Someone has to ask questions

A NEW minister at Education heading the political board, a senior chief officer with off-island experience running the department, the former director of education's stultifying influence negated, the the head of the island's worst performing high school out virtually on the spot and a review of primary education commissioned…

From all that, it is clear a new broom is sweeping through a department that has been under-performing for more than a decade.

That's the good news and parents, taxpayers and employers will wish the new minister and his chief officer well as they dismantle the apparatus and culture of the previous regime and instead concentrate on helping island youngsters to reach their full potential, set realistic but stretching expectations and make high schools accountable to the communities they serve.

The bad news, however, is that there remain so many loose ends that remain unexplained. For example:

• How was a key government department able to ignore modern educational developments for so long to the detriment of the island’s children?

• What is the truth behind what the then HM Procureur described as ‘a history of complaints and difficulties’ within the department plus the departure of senior staff?

• How much has been spent in the wake of departing Education staff and how has it been funded?

There are many other questions, not least why it took the particularly feisty ex-head of Le Rondin and the digging of this newspaper to expose the real story behind school exam results, triggering what should have happened years ago: regime change at Education.

The new board has other priorities and is right not to be deflected. But these questions and the others still require answers.

They suggest failings at the highest level of government and particularly call into doubt the value of Public Accounts and Scrutiny as watchdogs of public and taxpayer interests even though the deputies who populate those bodies should have been well aware of the concerns that have been unresolved since at least 2003.

They may be too timid – and too cosy – to hold their colleagues to account.

But this newspaper will continue to make waves on behalf of islanders.