Treasury up to their necks in education
ON THE eve of publication of a report that was originally meant to be about rebuilding La Mare, Treasury and Resources has set hares running that it will not be able to stop. In deciding to meet with the Grammar PTA last week it has created instability and left the public to wonder just who is in charge of the island's education system.
It looks like a department desperate to get its arguments heard ahead of the report's publication in a game of one-upmanship with Education.
That, or it shows even more political naivety or arrogance from those holding the purse strings.
As Education will no doubt be quick to say, T&R's actions are creating unnecessary uncertainty to thousands of pupils and teachers at both schools as it becomes equally obvious that the extra time given for both departments to resolve their dispute over La Mare has been wasted.
They remain polls apart – why else would one take up an invitation to brief the Grammar PTA alone? Why else would Education publicly rush out a statement to express its disbelief with what happened?
Anyone associated with the Grammar School will examine the deputy Treasury minister's words last week carefully. Can he really offer the reassurance that the Grammar will not close? Is it his place to? What do they make of his other suggestion it could move? Tomorrow we will find out just where Treasury is on this.
Both departments will now fight it out in the public arena – they both need to have strong, detailed, robust evidence to back up whatever stance they are taking as it will impact on generations to come.
The independent panels report's suggestion that it is time to look at moving from four to three secondary schools has already become central. How far will politicians take this knowing that they are just months away from debating whether to continue with selection? Some will be strongly tempted to wait.
The next six weeks will become as much about the pace of change in the education system and how to achieve that as it is simply about rebuilding La Mare and how much that should cost.
