A pledge to allow students to study for free at Bermuda College was among the education promises included in yesterday's Throne Speech.

The Government said it would amend the Bermuda College Act 1974 to change the admissions procedures to allow all Bermudians on accredited programmes to acquire their qualifications at no cost.

"Higher education will no longer be a rite of passage exclusively for the privileged," said the speech. "Every Bermudian will be provided with an opportunity to excel."

The crowd-pleasing commitment to providing free tertiary study for Islanders was one of the only real surprises concerning education in the speech.

No details of how much it will cost taxpayers was given. Much of what was said yesterday has been outlined before by Education Minister Randy Horton or referred to initiatives already under way, such as the reform of the public education system.

The speech talked of a "school-based management and accountability programme comprising a comprehensive assessment and accountability system" but did not explain what that would mean in practical terms.

It could be a reference to the changes new education consultant Henry Johnson has promised, which will see schools' performances made public.

There was also talk yesterday of an ongoing "perception study" to gauge parental expectations for curriculum, infrastructure, discipline and teacher performance but no information on how that would be used.

Government said yesterday it would increase the value of its scholarships and give out more bursary awards, though no actual figures were mentioned. The establishment of a public health scholarship to entice young people into the health profession was also promised.

Details were scant on other schemes, such as a promise to introduce certification and apprentice regulations with regard to technical education and the introduction of an international maritime training platform.

And a pledge to implement technical and vocational education in schools through the Workforce Development initiative appeared not to be anything new — last year's Throne Speech talked of expanding technical courses at the senior school level.

This year's speech said students would now be able to gain certification in a trade at senior school along with their Bermuda School Certificate.

Industry is likely to want to know whether more technical education will be brought in at the middle school level and how the college will fit into the picture but none of those specifics were included in yesterday's speech.

One source said there had been promises surrounding technical education for three years but no results, adding: "Technical education has failed to be taken seriously because of the Ministry of Education and the failure of the Minister to prioritise this portion of instructional learning."

The speech said: "The ultimate goal of the Government is to empower all Bermudians and harness the innate capacity for understanding, thinking and reasoning.

"Learning is a lifelong pursuit and all of Bermuda's citizenry must be provided with the opportunity to participate in the acquisition of knowledge."

The Ministry of Education did not respond to a request for more information on the Throne Speech education pledges.