year, it was revealed yesterday.

Education Minister Milton Scott said he hoped to have an initial draft plan on the licensing of teachers submitted to him by the end of June, with teachers across the Island actually being certified by September next year.

The Education Department has been working with the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) and Bermuda College to set official standards, decipher legislation and organise the necessary training to ensure all teachers on the Island are up to scratch.

Once teachers receive their licences they must undergo regular training and comply to the standards or face losing their jobs.

Those that fail to meet the standards will be forced out of the profession.

Mr. Scott spoke at a press conference yesterday where a community survey on the future of education was unveiled.

Among concerns raised by parents was the issue of accountability.

Mr. Scott said there was no doubt teachers should be licensed and continually monitored to ensure pupils were given the best possible education.

He said it would lead to greater accountability and ensure that checks were in place to maintain high standards throughout all of Bermuda's schools.

And he said it would not be a Ministry of Education licence but instead take the format of licences set out in statute, such as those for nurses, barristers and attorneys.

"We anticipate having the first draft by June 30,'' he said.

"We hope that by the end of this year, or the early part of next year, we will be close to having the final draft.'' BUT general secretary Michael Charles said he was working with a number of leaders in the education field to draw up the first draft by the end of the summer school term.

The committee is looking at a number of issues including which licences will be accepted from overseas, the initial licensing exam for teachers and the on-going training that was required.

He added: "Every teacher in Bermuda will have to have a licence. Those that do not comply with the standards will lose their licence.

"Hopefully, it will be ready by September, 2001. What the licence will do is enable us to set a certain standard and will ensure that the teachers we have in the system continue to maintain that standard.'' But he said he was confident that all teachers on the Island were already of a high standard and would qualify for a licence.

Bermuda College vice president of academic and student affairs Donald Peters is liaising with overseas universities and colleges to ascertain what training facilities could be brought to the Island to bring teachers up to the required standards, if necessary.

Education survey -- Page 3 So far there are 12 applications from colleges offering training from overseas, but Dr. Peters said he would be unable to make a decision until finer details of training requirements were in place.

He said: "We would be looking to provide a number of on-going courses and workshops that look at every aspect of training.

"We will need to determine what training teachers need and then actually provide it. That is our role.

"We will have the best education in the world. We will contract the best people in to provide the training from overseas for two years, then we will take over after that.''