Education saga leaves no one looking good
THERE are no winners in the saga of the botched appointment of a senior education officer.
More than a year on from the infamous email from Education president Matt Fallaize berating his chief secretary for obstructing the committee’s agenda, there has been no investigation, no conclusion to a sorry tale.
All parties feel that is wrong, but cannot agree on a way forward.
As a result, the whole affair is like a stain on the States carpet that will never be cleaned up. Instead it will gradually fade until only those most closely involved can still see it.
The failure to get to the bottom of why the successful candidate for the job of Head of Curriculum and Standards went to all the trouble of applying and being interviewed only to pull out shortly after getting the job should trouble both politicians and civil servants.
Education, in particular, feel they have been left looking complicit. A full and independent inquiry would exonerate them, they say.
Their frustration that process and data rules are preventing ‘the truth’ coming out is understandable. For if the matter is left unresolved the ‘blame’ is left lying abandoned at their door.
To a lesser degree, Policy & Resources feels the same. They are not so publicly identified as the culprit but, as the employing body, officers and politicians know that their actions and integrity have been questioned.
Scrutiny are also unhappy. Islanders badly wanted this matter investigated yet, after a drawn vote, the States refused to back their preferred Tribunal of Inquiry.
Without that, Scrutiny felt it lacked the tools to conduct a transparent and effective inquiry into what happened.
Lastly, the officers at the centre of the failed appointment – one of whom has gone on to be appointed by Education to another senior role – are left with an unresolved public controversy on their records.
It is a failure of governance, of scrutiny, and of individuals. It has left blameless people feeling badly let down.
Yet after such a long time and with an election to come in October, one suspects that sour taste will never go away.