deserve. We are fond of saying that we do not do enough for our young people.

Then we nod and agree. Some Bermudians also have a habit of saying that Bermudians are badly treated when it comes to education. There are attempts to convince us that Bermudians who could benefit from a good education are somehow cheated. But is that true? Bermuda sends 64 percent, or nearly two-thirds, of her young people to colleges and universities. The United States sends 33 percent, one third, of its young people to colleges and universities and Japan sends 15 percent.

Bermuda's figure is staggering and must be the highest in the world. Some of our success in providing so well for our children is achieved by sacrifice on the part of Bermudians who want the children to have the best. A good deal of that very high figure is enabled by the high standard of living Bermudians enjoy and the freedom to choose higher education is provided by good wages and incomes and, we think, a lack of income tax in a well run economy.

A good deal of this figure is also provided by a wide array of scholarships and financial help provided by Government, the private sector, individuals and service organisations. Yet Bermuda often denies a figure which we should point to with pride by suggesting that we do not do what we should be doing. Of course we could always do more but that does not mean that we are not now doing a great deal.

But the college attendance figures indicate something to us. Bermuda's education system must be of a good standard because so many of the students it produces gain college acceptance. We already know that the high standards of the Bermuda College are recognised in the United States and Canada where major institutions accept students after two years at Bermuda College. In the same way, acceptance of Bermudians by colleges abroad recognises the standards of Bermuda's secondary school system.

This newspaper has complaints about the education system. The public has complaints. Individuals complain. But the truth seems to be that while we would all like the system to be better, it is, in fact, doing its job. One of our complaints is that sometimes our young people are not guided properly and go to institutions which are not as good as Bermuda College or to institutions which are not as good as some which would accept them and educate them better.

The figure of 64 percent of our young people attending colleges and universities would indicate to us that very few Bermudians who could benefit from a college education and who meet the standards for college acceptance are denied a chance to go to college. That is a statement that virtually no other country on earth can make.