Education sadness

Every morning as I wake, questions force themselves into my consciousness. How is it that when a deadly and poorly understood virus arrived on our shores, at short notice, the Health & Social Care department was able to spring to our defence, keep deaths to a minimum and return normal life to the community for several months, then when the menace returned suddenly, once again rose to the challenge and despite one sad death kept hospital admissions to a minimum? The answer has to lie in good governance. The Civil Contingencies Authority and HSC’s management of the crisis has been exemplary. What’s more their frequent meetings with the media allowing ample time for questions avoided panic and kept the public on-side, despite the need to introduce stringent restrictions on human liberties.

Then another question raises itself. How is it that the reform of secondary education, an issue that has been around for a number of years, looks as if the train carrying our young people is well on its way to hitting the terminal buffers? The answer is that the CCA and all the elements of the health service management have worked well together as a team that realised the importance of good communication. The political director of the health service has received and acted on the advice from highly qualified and experienced health professionals, Dr Brink and Dr Rabey, in whom the public has great trust. It has been Guernsey government at its best.

By contrast the management of education over the last 20 years, with the exception of one or two quickly extinguished bright spells, has been dysfunctional, with the various elements of management unable to build good relationships or to trust one another.

A major reason for this is that the political leadership has lacked or been unprepared to listen to professional advice of the quality provided by Dr Brink and Dr Rabey. But surely the teachers are the experts are they not? Sadly not, I’m afraid. In fact, in today’s world no one can claim to be an expert. Both Health and Education are dealing with a constantly changing clientele of individual human beings, all unique. Being the father of identical twins, I can vouch for this. Then this mass of individuals has been born into a world of exponential change. Anyone still want to claim to be an education expert? HSC has learnt that they need professionals with different areas of expertise and so must organise them into teams who can work together. There is no place in today’s world for a command and control style of management by a single ‘expert’.

Unfortunately for them, the current five members of ESC are a relatively inexperienced group of politicians bereft of the quality advice available to HSC. In fact, there has not been a resident director of Education, as required by the current 1970 Law, with the necessary ability for many a year. The pandemic has created difficulty but can’t be blamed entirely for this, which leaves me wondering how is it that a primary duty laid upon the Education Council/Committee by the current law has been ignored for so long?

I accept that the law is outdated but it is still the law and it’s not for any politician or functionary to ignore it.

Our education service has been based on the mainland’s for over 100 years. Our education laws are based on those of England, our current 1970 law is based on England’s 1944 Education Act. English is the prominent language of both communities, most of our students heading for higher education go to British institutions, our students take English external qualifications, apart from those taking the international baccalaureate, and we recruit most of our teachers from the mainland. With this in mind there are only so many ways of delivering secondary education with due regard to the cost and those have already been considered.

I mean no disrespect to ESC members but bearing in mind their lack of experience in organising a state education service, the dearth of on-tap, high-quality professional advice and the island in a state of turmoil over its education service. I doubt whether any group of politicians, experienced or not, could resolve such a mess, after all one wouldn’t expect the president of HSC to perform brain surgery (at least I hope not). Therefore, how can this all be resolved?

The one thing the States must not do is out of desperation or sheer boredom vote for any proposals that’s put before them at present.

This is a critically important matter for most people in the Bailiwick as well as our economy. The first thing we need to do is put all thought of buildings behind us and seek answers to the following;

1. What skills and values do we need to impart to our young to live happily in the world they will enter?

2. What skills and knowledge will our community need to allow it to develop its economy successfully?

3. What impact will the combination of technology and the pandemic have on how our children will be educated in the future?

Once answered and only then can we start to think about buildings.

A daunting issue lies ahead but we can be guided by how we have resolved recent problems. The model that dealt with Covid-19 is still there and could be turned to again, albeit with a different membership to avoid stress – but it would need an experienced educationalist, possibly recruited on a short-term contract. None of this should or could be concluded rapidly and a small task force should be formed to manage the present and assist with transition arrangements.

If we can’t return this essential and expensive service to good governance, I fear the Sark fate of Westminster intervention.

DICK TAYLOR

Former deputy of director of Education, education and training advisor to the GFSC, industrial disputes officer.