Education in Bermuda - like everything else - is going up in price with tuition costs increasing by between four and five percent year on year.

All private schools on the Island raised their annual costs this year to meet inflation and the rising cost of materials, wages and building maintenance.

The cost of sending a child to one of the Government schools is still greater than the price of a private education.

It costs the Country $11,892 for each of the 6,500 students educated in the public system, through from primary to high school level.

The Ministry of Education also foots the bills of all specialist teachers and paraprofessionals needed to teach special needs children, and for its running costs.

The basic cost of sending a child to Saltus Grammar School is $8,695 a year. Last year the fee was $8,444.

A year of schooling at Warwick Academy this year is $7,950, in comparison to $7,575 last year. Bermuda High School comes in at $9,100 this year, a rise of five percent over last year's cost of $8,725.

Bermuda Institute offers varying prices, depending on the age of students. The elementary age group is charged $5,600, up $500 on last year, and high school is $6,300, up only $200 on the year 2000.

And Mount St Agnes charges $6,090 for kindergarten to grade six students, $7,065 for grades seven and eight, and $7,365 for high school students. Its increases have amounted to between $350 and $500 on last year.

Education Minister Milton Scott said he was not surprised by the difference in the cost of educating children at private and public schools, and said the trend was the same in other countries. He said: "The budget for the Ministry is $77.3 million this year. There are approximately 6,500 students in the public school system.

"Care should be taken, however, in making simple calculations to estimate the cost per student. Unlike the private schools, the public education system provides an education to any student who needs it - including those that the private schools will not or cannot accommodate.

"We have a number of students, presently 151, who have intense needs which must be accommodated to enable them to learn. These students are supported by paraprofessionals - these salaries alone boost our costs.

"In addition, a variety of specialised equipment, including specialised technology, is needed to enable them to fully access their education.

"Beyond this small group with intense needs, many more students in the system have other challenges, such as visual or hearing impairments, behavioural challenges and learning difficulties."

Sen. Scott said any comparisons to the private sector must also take into account the fact that school fees often to do not include books or other materials.

He added: "The public education system is here to provide the best possible education for all children, whatever their needs may be - and whatever the cost of supporting an individual child's leaning may be."

Warwick Academy head teacher Robert Lennox said his school had tried hard to keep the increases down but a new sixth form programme made it difficult.

He said: "The rise was roughly at three percent for the last two years, but it has gone up to almost five percent this year. We have expanded and we now have a sixth form programme, so the costs of the school have increased. But we are committed to remaining within the grasp of a full cross section of the Island's population, so it was hard for us this year."

However, he said he believed Bermuda was getting good value for money with private education.

"If you compare any of our schools to the United States, they pay a lot more and it would be questionable whether they get anything better.

"I would say private education is probably one of the best bargains on the Island."

About 40 percent of Bermuda's children are privately educated, either at schools in Bermuda or overseas.

In the UK and US, about eight and five percent of students attend private schools respectively.

Bermuda Union of Teachers general secretary Michael Charles said Government had to invest a great deal of money into the system to ensure that no student was left behind just because of the school they attended.

He added: "The public system has more special needs and more administrative costs. At one time, the difference between private and public costs was only a few hundred dollars, but the Ministry, over the years, has increased the amount of administration staff and all of them get paid more than teachers. That takes money.

"Children's education should be improving, (if the budget is increasing). I'm sure that is why they are getting more staff simply because they will be able to deliver a better service."

Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith said Government had an obligation to the taxpayer and parents to ensure that public education was as accountable, efficient and as effective as private schooling.

He said: "Knowing that more money is no guarantee of success, there will, of course, be some debate on what is adequate. The more important debate, however, should centre on what the money is being spent on. Since few factors affect students' performance more than the quality of their teachers, we do not believe that enough is spent on their professional development, for example."