Academy `mega-school' would give the means to greater efficiency in providing a full range of courses.

Mr. Dill pointed out that, under the current system of smaller schools, a school may teach French -- but not Spanish.

He added there may be in each school at present only a handful of pupils who want to take a particular course.

And he said of CedarBridge: "With 950 students scheduling is going to be, I shouldn't say easy, but far less difficult.

"We will be in a position where we can far more effectively utilise our resources, whether they be inanimate objects or our teachers themselves.'' Mr. Dill was speaking as the Budget debate spotlight turned on the Ministry of Education.

Earlier, Mr. Dill discussed developments at Bermuda College, including the opening of the new Technical Education Centre late last year.

Mr. Dill said that Members would be aware that the old Technical Institute was a high school -- so that the benefit was confined to a relatively small number.

But he said Government's view was that technical education was "absolutely essential'' to the future of the Country.

Mr. Dill added: "Our thrust is to make sure that we expose all our people to the benefits of a technical education and do that by infusing technical education throughout the entire system.'' He said that there had been calls that it was time to set about filling the Bermuda College facilities with people who want to learn trades.

Mr. Dill added: "We have facilities, we clearly have the commitment shown by Government and the Bermuda College -- now we must have the commitment to encourage youngsters to use it.

"The vision we have for education is all-encompassing -- to prepare our young people to take their rightful place at the helm of all our organisations and at the helm of all our trades.'' And he added that to do that, it was necessary to start at the very lowest levels of the education system -- from primary school, through high school and up to Bermuda College.

Mr. Dill said: "Then we will be well on our way to proving that we have prepared our young people fully to take their place in all aspects of the economy.'' Mr. Dill added that a firm grasp on the fast-moving world of computer technology was vital in preparing young people to meet the challenges of the future.

The college's own computer centre had recently demonstrated its capabilities with a link-up between Minister of Technology John Barritt and his counterpart in Nova Scotia.

Mr. Dill said 125 graduates from a range of levels and full-and part-time courses had graduated from Bermuda College in June last year.

He added there had been more than 500 applications in 1996, of which 75 percent were successful. Mr. Dill added that one of the goals of the college was to appeal to 75 percent of all Bermudian secondary school students.

He added enrolments were up for the new 1996 session, with 526 full-time students registering, compared to 515 in the previous year.

Mr. Dill said: "That is something which we believe is certainly a huge step in the right direction -- we have got to work very, very hard to make the Bermuda College attractive to our young people and we are spending a lot of money on the Bermuda College.'' Concluded in tomorrow's newspaper EDUCATION ED