Just 76 percent of students in their last year of public school this summer managed to graduate -- a four percent decrease on last year, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Figures released last night showed that out of a possible 412 pupils who could have graduated from Government schools last month, only 313 of them did so.

And only 12 of those students graduated with honours status by obtaining a point average of 3.5, which is equivalent to a B-plus average over five years, as well as passes in traditional English and maths at level five.

Education bosses last night said they were not displeased with the statistics and said they compared favourably with other figures from around the world.

However, they admitted there was still room for improvement and said they would only be completely happy when almost all students on the Island graduated, many of them with honours.

Maxine Esdaille, Senior Education Officer for Curriculum and Evaluation for the Education Ministry, said the average pass rate between 1981 and 1990 was 70.5 percent, and between 1991 and 2000, 77 percent.

"We would obviously like to get much higher, but I think we are up there with most other countries and jurisdictions,'' said Mrs. Esdaille.

"We went from a 64 percent graduation rate in 1997, when CedarBridge Academy opened, to 80 percent in 1999. This year we have just come down a little bit.'' Permanent Education Secretary for the Ministry, Michelle Khaldun, spoke to The Royal Gazette about her vision for education on the Island and said she was already moving toward improving standards.

But she said since taking up the position seven months ago, she had visited almost every Government classroom on the Island and had been very impressed by most of the children that she met.

However she said she instantly noticed differences in teaching ability from class to class and sometimes school to school and aimed to address the problem by making sure appraisals of teachers were regularly carried out, extra training offered and a teacher's licence introduced.

Government hopes to have a licence scheme next year.

Mrs. Khaldun spoke to The Royal Gazette following claims by the former vice president of Bermuda College, Donald Peters, that the Education Ministry was failing students and should be closed down.

But she said: "I think people should have choices in society and education, but I believe that being a well educated person is a basic human right, no matter what your circumstance.

"I won't quibble over the statistics that Dr. Peters used, but I agree that too many of our students are not making the grade. We have to change that.

"When I went into some schools I found a lack of consistency. That was disappointing. I could instantly sense it from how the children reacted and spoke, how innovative they were, how they interacted with each other and how confident they were.

"But I don't think this is a problem particular to Bermuda. We face exactly the same challenges as every other country.

"The difference is, we are very small and can much more easily get the community involved and make a difference together. I believe we will improve and become a shining example to other people.'' And she said the Ministry was being slightly streamlined, with possibly seven members of staff being lost, as recommended in an audit dating back to 1996.

But she said she firmly believed that Bermuda needed the Ministry to ensure new standards and expectations were put in place for all schools to aim toward, creating greater consistency across the Island.