Education Minister Milton Scott was right to throw his support behind a plan to offer free Bermuda College tuition to certain students.

A recent survey of more than 400 residents shows there is strong public support for the scheme.

Results from the Bermuda Omnibus Survey of 403 residents between June 30 and July 7 show that close to eight in ten people surveyed either strongly -- 39 percent -- or generally -- 39 percent -- back the idea.

Meanwhile less than two in ten either generally -- ten percent -- or strongly -- six percent -- oppose the idea of providing free tuition to public high school students who meet certain academic and attendance standards.

And the remainder polled said it would either depend on other factors -- four percent -- or had no clear opinion either way -- two percent.

The survey was conducted by Total Marketing and Communications Ltd. (TMC) in association with its Canadian affiliate Corporate Research Associates Inc.

A TMC spokesman yesterday claimed the random sample of 403 people drawn from the Island's population is considered accurate to within plus or minus 4.9 percent in 95 out of a hundred cases.

Other findings contained in the survey indicate that support for the free tuition scheme is generally consistent throughout the population and is strong amongst both blacks and whites.

Eighty percent of black residents voiced their support of the plan in comparison to 77 percent of white residents.

However black residents are more likely than white residents to strongly support the proposed initiative -- 43 percent versus 31 percent.

And support for the programme is strongest among younger residents, gaining 87 percent support from those aged between 18 and 34 in comparison to 68 percent of those aged 55 or older.

The idea of free college tuition was originally introduced under the former United Bermuda Party Government as a means of encouraging students to attend school and continue their education after leaving public high school.

Due to the high cost of post secondary education, it was felt that free Bermuda College tuition for any Bermudian in the public school system who has regular attendance and received at least a B average might achieve this goal.

Sen. Scott originally opposed the scheme and labelled it as a pre-election gimmick by the UBP, but changed his tune.

Government decided it would foot the bill for CedarBridge Academy and Berkeley Institute students who maintained the necessary grades and kept a 95-percent attendance record.

The UBP's original idea to randomly drug test the successful students was dropped however due to the lack of sufficient funding to hire the necessary testers.

The Government has not ruled out the possibility of reintroducing the idea if funding is made available.

Sounding out: Strong and general support for free college tuition is at a solid 39 percent respectively, while about 16 percent of those polled strongly or generally disagreed with the idea.