Education: still many unknowns
PROBABLY the most critical question of the whole Education debacle – how things were ever allowed to get to this stage – is the one that has not been answered.
PROBABLY the most critical question of the whole Education debacle – how things were ever allowed to get to this stage – is the one that has not been answered.
Indeed, there is a marked reluctance to do so because it would mean re-examining a history of missed opportunities, poor decisions and a reluctance to tackle difficult issues.
It is also clear from the inquiries this newspaper has made that chief officers can be untouchable and political interest in such matters is strongly discouraged by officials.
When approached, a majority of deputies were raising concerns about the conduct of the director of education. The then HM Procureur said it was time that this aspect of States business was brought firmly under control.
It was also a 'cardinal principle' of good government that civil servants should not be criticised or vilified by their employer, the States, without opportunity of immediate rebuttal.
That makes some sense, purely from a natural justice perspective. But it does hamstring elected representatives when they feel that an issue has not adequately been dealt with or resolved.
Greater accountability now exists, following the Policy Council changing contracts so that chief officers are now accountable to the chief executive and not to their individual political boards.
However, while the Mulkerrin report has laid bare the deficiencies that underpin the operation of Education and explain its under-performance and disservice to island children, it is silent on another crucial matter.
The review has already identified that the current structure gives too much power to the director of education without checks and balances to off-set the degree of central control.
Islanders are entitled to ask what the consequences of that were.
Has it, as claimed, led to the cadavers of promising careers littering Grange House simply because individuals challenged an omnipotent boss?
Is there any truth in the allegations that pension funds were used to pay off people? If correct, what was the cost and who authorised it? Was one man also trustee of the teachers' and lecturers' pension fund before it was merged with the States Superannuation Fund?
Preventing future catastrophes is one thing. A transparent understanding of the past is quite another.
