The future of education is up for debate

The four central pillars around which the Education Department's consultation is built – the 11-plus, post-16 education, college funding and school closures – are each meaty topics worthy of detailed analysis but are so interlinked it would be impossible to consider one without the others.

Education says that it is determined that this should be a genuine consultation, without the unfortunate 'steering' that has blighted several previous States surveys. It is a tricky task but, with a couple of exceptions – the assumption, for example, that pre-school education is a higher priority than college funding – it has largely been successful.

That comes at a cost, however.

Without a preferred option to give shape to the debate there is a danger that people will not fully engage in the process. That would leave the field clear for educationalists and hardliners to have an undue influence at the expense of a balanced debate.

Education's task is to draw everyone into the discussion.

That could come partly through the focus groups where some of the more complex arguments can be thrashed out.

This is a far better forum than a straightforward questionnaire to gauge how changing one aspect of education will influence another.

That includes the hypothetical effect of reducing or ending the grant to the colleges. Without knowing whether that would leave the colleges unviable and how many students would switch to States schooling it is impossible to know how risky the proposition is that one secondary school should be closed.

As the document is understandably devoid of detailed costings it may give Treasury and Resources nightmares that the public will choose the gold-plated option, not the best value for money.

Perhaps that is for the best. Education is too important to be all about the pounds and pennies.

http://education.gg/YSYC