Delaying education debate will add ‘risk and uncertainty’
DELAYING the debate into the future of secondary and post-16 education by a month will add another £3m. to £4m. to Education’s reform plans, the committee’s president has warned.
Policy & Resources has proposed pushing the debate back until January to reduce the risk that the matter will not be concluded before Christmas to ensure a properly informed debate on the alternative two 11-18 schools model that is expected to be put forward in mid-December.
However, Education president Paul Le Pelley said the proposed schedule would have the opposite effect.
‘Far from reducing risk as [P&R vice-president] Deputy [Lyndon] Trott claims, this additional five-week delay will add significant further risk and uncertainty.
‘The committee is very concerned that delaying debate until January will have far-reaching consequences beyond those envisaged by P&R.
‘Far from ensuring value for money from the £93,000 funding for the provision of information and modelling of a two-school option, as Deputy Trott suggests, this delay could end up costing the Guernsey taxpayer much, much more.’
Deputy Le Pelley added that the debate should occur before children in Year 6 sit their 11-plus test papers in January.
Full story in Saturday's Guernsey Press
