Election will not change anything
AS WE move toward another election with a new system that is designed to get the old school back into power – by that I mean a ballot paper with a numerous amount of names to vote for instead of just one or perhaps up to three – we leave behind another four years of people not being happy with what has been achieved in respect of all the promises made.
We also move on towards an uncertain future. It is fine to spend, spend, spend our money on a two-school system (or the now in-word ‘model’) but one cannot but ask the question why? Why spend all that money closing schools and building others? We had schools people were very happy with – and to be honest it does not matter whether pupils, sorry, I forgot another of today’s in-words, ‘students’, are being taught in 10 schools or two schools. The only difference is our politicians get to move this little island’s identity further away from its roots by Americanising it. They seem to want to be American, so why not go and live out there. The demolition and closure of many schools in favour of two buildings means large classes, less teachers and a lot of traffic jams. Then what? Do we have to start building two new schools in a few years’ time because the building’s life span has run out? I may be old school (no pun intended), but not having enough schools to contest healthy sports competitions like football leagues and athletics like the old-style island schools sports day is being lost. Children with great big packs on their backs carrying all their work around instead of being at a desk and adding time on school days when we see children walking around because they have a free hour seems all bunkum to me.
That’s not the only problem with our government when it comes to contradicting themselves and dictating what we should be doing. They spend endless time telling us to get out of our cars and then complain there is not enough money spent on fuel, so the prices must rise as they are not getting enough money off us to waste on silly projects.
Also all this calling in experts to tell them what to do at extortionate prices all coming out of the taxpayer’s pocket is not good either. What are experts anyway? Are they simply people who avoid small errors and go for the big mistakes, or people who know enough to complicate simple matters, or even people called in at the last moment to share the blame? It’s only in my opinion, but I feel we have gone too far down the road in complicating a simple way of life into the torturous way of life the Americans live.
Also pinching pennies here and there and wasting it in the hundreds of thousands elsewhere is not the way to go. Upsetting everyone by not paying a liveable wage to the real workers like States manual labourers and nurses, yet being happy to take large wads for yourselves, does not make for a friendly, best place in the world to live either.
ROD HAMON
5, Rosemount,
Mont Arrive,
St Peter Port,
GY1 2AF.