university following a flood of offers to help pay her tuition fees.

Her phone began ringing at 8 a.m. yesterday, continuing throughout the day as dozens of offers poured in from concerned residents and members of the business community.

They offered her loans and donations so she could continue her education at Clark Atlanta University to get a degree in middle school teaching.

Meanwhile, the father of another Bermudian student blasted Government for not giving priority to youngsters seeking financial assistance to study teaching.

"Young people who want to become teachers should be given the first chance at Government scholarships,'' he said. "They will be returning to Bermuda to work in Government's schools.

"Students wanting to be accountants or lawyers don't seem to have a problem getting financial aid but they will be returning to work for private firms.'' The father, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he ended up having to pay his son's tuition at Morris Brown University after Government refused the young man's loan and grant applications.

But he has made an appointment to see Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons to protest the fact students studying teaching cannot get loans until they complete the second year of a four-year college.

The 20-year-old Somerset woman had sent out a plea on Tuesday for a $5,000 loan after Government turned down her financial assistance application on New Year's Eve.

She was left with just a week to find the cash for her first semester at Clark Atlanta.

When she could not come up with the money, she complained to The Royal Gazette that her plight was an indictment on Government's talk about helping the young.

The former Bermuda College student was told her application had been turned down because she did not have enough university credits.

But she claimed education officials were not informed of the credits she received at Morris Brown, where she had been studying pre-school education and, she said, received many As for her work.

The student switched to Clark Atlanta to become part of Bermuda's middle school plans.

The young woman said her only problem now was to decide who to take a loan from.

Though she was offered many donations, she said she would not feel right about accepting them.

"I'd feel better about it if I could pay the money back,'' she said. "But I would like to thank everyone who called -- It was very positive and made me feel very good.'' She added that even if no-one had offered to help, she was thankful for all the calls off support she received from parents and other students facing similar problems.

She did not want to name any of the people who had offered her money but said they included bankers, business managers/owners and private individuals.

"There were a few names I recognised,'' she said.