implemented smoothly is not expected to be fully in place until after the New Year, it was revealed this week.

Speaking on the status of Government's education reform plans, Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons said his department was proceeding with care.

But he said about 200 of the Island's 600 public school teachers, including counsellors and principals, have been trained for the restructuring -- particularly in middle level education.

And education officials have looked at the broad content of subjects to be developed in senior secondary schools, and developed design briefs and preliminary drawings for middle schools and design briefs for the senior secondary schools.

The restructuring will include setting up five middle schools and two senior secondary schools.

"We've done what we planned to at this stage -- that is, those things that we have control over,'' Mr. Simons said.

"One of the weaknesses we've had is that we have not had people totally dedicated, that is, able to apply all their time to the restructuring.

"So we recognised that in order to plan for change we would need a dedicated (Education Planning Team) Implementation Team.'' In August, the Minister said the burden of carrying out the restructuring of the system while running the existing school system was to be lifted from education officers.

He said the implementation team, including a communications officer, project manager, curriculum coordinator, and manpower planning officer, was expected to be in place by October.

The team is to exist for three years or until September, 1995, when restructuring is to be completed.

But Mr. Simons said only two of the positions were filled.

The communications officer post was filled in September by journalist Mr. Sean Dill and last month former New Brunswick deputy education minister Mr. Earle Wood filled the project manager position.

Mr. Wood, who will receive up to $77,000 a year, will be responsible for overall management of the temporary team.

As a former school superintendent of Saint John -- New Brunswick's largest school district -- he, among other things, was responsible for overall management of multi-million dollar renovations to the district's two largest schools.

Mr. Wood, as deputy education minister in 1989-90, also reorganised and implemented a restructured secondary school system, requiring three to six additional course credits and a revamped core curriculum.

Education Permanent Secretary Dr. Marion Robinson said it has not been easy for the department to recruit a curriculum coordinator.

"The middle school concept is practically a new concept,'' she said. "It would be ideal to have someone with experience in developing a curriculum including in middle schools and hopefully beyond that. But so far we have found no-one.

"But it's safe to say by the beginning of 1993 we will have a manpower planning officer for the team.''