El James has not ruled out a return as Education Minister after losing his portfolio at the weekend, he revealed yesterday.

Mr. James, whose removal from Cabinet was prompted by his call on Friday for Premier Ewart Brown to resign, told The Royal Gazette: "I loved my Ministry. I loved education and I think we were doing a great job.

"I'm always concerned, as everybody is, with what's happening with this country. While I'm not there right now, I'm still concerned about what's happening."

Asked to respond to reports that he had rejected an offer from Dr. Brown this week to resume his education brief, he replied: "I don't know about that. I didn't refuse. I haven't refused to go back to any Cabinet. That story is definitely not correct."

He added: "I would only say that I'm no longer in Cabinet. I had a meeting with Dr. Brown last Sunday morning."

Mr. James, who became the seventh Education Minister in a decade when he replaced Randy Horton last November, told the House of Assembly on Friday: "No man is bigger than this party. I have listened to my constituents say: 'Where is your backbone? Where is your spine? We put you in there and what are you doing?'."

Terry Lister, Wayne Perinchief and Mr. Horton also told MPs last week that Dr. Brown should step down. Mr. Lister has since said he was then sacked as Energy Minister.

Dr. Brown told a press conference on Tuesday that both Mr. Lister and Mr. James resigned from Cabinet. He said the late Health Minister Nelson Bascome agreed to add education to his list of responsibilities before his death that morning.

Senator Kim Wilson will now combine the role of Acting Education Minister with her duties as Attorney General and Justice Minister for the rest of the summer.

Union leader Mike Charles said yesterday that teachers were concerned about the "chopping and changing" of Education Ministers when the "monumental task" of public school reform was ongoing.

"It gives us some reason for concern," he said. "We had developed a good rapport with Minister James and now we really don't know where we are until we have a meeting with whomever was appointed.

"We were able to sit down with him. We had weekly meetings with him where we could discuss what was going on with education. If something was going on, we could call him. We were beginning to build up a good relationship there, and now we have to start over."

Mr. Charles, general secretary of Bermuda Union of Teachers, said he had not been told Sen. Wilson was acting as caretaker Minister. "It doesn't make life any easier when we keep chopping and changing," he said.

He said teachers inevitably got the blame for the failing school system, yet had to contend with a constant state of flux at the Ministry of Education.

"Nobody talks about all that stuff that happens, how the [Ministry] head keeps changing all the time," he said. "The finger is always pointed at the teachers."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said successful education would only come with "consistency, clear direction, trust and focused leadership at the top".

"To have yet another change in Minister at this critical time, and only an acting minister at that, is incredibly counterproductive," said Dr. Gibbons.

"While progress in reforming the public education system is still very slow, I believe former Minister James was able to rebuild some trust with key groups in the public education sector, and it's now unfortunate that that process has to start all over again.

"In removing yet another Minister, it seems clear that the Premier is putting personal loyalty from his Cabinet Ministers above the interests of parents, students and teachers.

"It's also understandable why after some eight different PLP Education Ministers, the community is so frustrated and discouraged with the process of public education reform."

Board of Education chairman Mark Byrne said: "I haven't even met the new Minister. So at this point, I don't really have any views."