Only a new ESC committee will be truly open-minded
AS ONE of a significant percentage of the population who were against the one school two sites education proposals, which to my mind were wrong on so many levels, (and I remind readers that 6,000 people signed a petition to stop this proposal and nearly 3,000 people marched on St Peter Port to protest against it), I was more than a little disturbed to read the front page article in the Guernsey Press purporting that the ESC were now only interested in developing a model which has sufficient support from all the stakeholders.
Well the question is, can the same committee who just three or four months ago totally ignored the public and who tried their utmost to push their proposals through under the radar be trusted to now endorse an egalitarian and impartial process?
If Deputy Matt Fallaize is to be believed, he says that his committee would have quit months ago if their intention was to try to push their preferred model through. He says that ESC is now committed to finding the right model, that they are focused on finding the best solution and are open-minded about how that is best achieved. They are talking about consultations with staff etc. via surveys and a promise of more detailed consultation during the autumn.
While he makes a concerted effort to convince every sceptic, he continues to use intimidating words to frighten those parents who are so worried about their children’s future education into thinking that the current system is abysmal and that the race to change the status quo before all hell breaks loose is imperative. All of this makes a cynic like me suspicious.
Having read ESC’s article I turned to page 16 and read the Guernsey Press Opinion article which, surprise, surprise, echoes my doubts as to ESC’s real agenda.
I note most tellingly that the Opinion page states that ‘they can promise to be open-minded as much as they like but it is impossible to fight tooth and nail for a dream for year after year against fierce opposition and not harbour deep-seated bias’. This is exactly my point.
The population of Guernsey has in the last three months been governed in a much more open and transparent way with consultation and discussion with the general public at every step. Let us hope that the Assembly has learned a lesson from this. Even better, let us have a new Assembly sooner rather than later so that we can have a truly genuine and open-minded review with a new Education committee. The election cannot come soon enough for me.
CONNIE HELYAR-WILKINSON,
Address withheld.