AFTER unprecedented criticism of the management of the Education Department with more than half the island’s deputies demanding an external assessment of it, the resulting review has been eagerly awaited. But its publication today will widely be regarded as a whitewash.
Even its author says that anyone seeking a quasi-judicial investigation will be disappointed.
In short, despite wide-ranging concerns about the operation of the department and some of the consequences of that, there are no headline conclusions, no finger of blame.
Yet a more analytical reading of probably the strangest inquiry report yet received by the States – it considers issues in terms of elephants or giraffes – is actually very revealing.
The department as a whole is basically broken. Were it not for the efforts of a number of individuals, it would actually be unfit for purpose.
The reasons are many and varied but essentially boil down to this: no one, from the States of Deliberation down to other departments including HR and Treasury and Resources, really knows what they are doing with Education.
The review’s language is more diplomatic and speaks of roles and relationships and the need for balanced teams, but the meaning is clear.
Education has actually performed astonishingly well in the absence of clear political leadership or cohesive management and despite having an exceptionally challenging and wide-ranging job to do.
What genuinely puzzles the report’s author is the gulf between those who believe the department does excellently and those who say it performs woefully. The research shows no possibility of reconciling those opposing views but is clear in concluding that things cannot continue as they are.
That is acknowledged by the Policy Council and Education itself but the task of rebuilding the department from top to bottom and properly defining its role in a corporate context will have to wait until after the election.
However, odd though the report is, it actually sets out a framework within which, if followed, both sides can claim victory.
A revealing ‘whitewash’
AFTER unprecedented criticism of the management of the Education Department with more than half the island’s deputies demanding an external assessment of it, the resulting review has been eagerly awaited. But its publication today will widely be regarded as a whitewash.
Even its author says that anyone seeking a quasi-judicial investigation will be disappointed.
In short, despite wide-ranging concerns about the operation of the department and some of the consequences of that, there are no headline conclusions, no finger of blame.
Yet a more analytical reading of probably the strangest inquiry report yet received by the States – it considers issues in terms of elephants or giraffes – is actually very revealing.
The department as a whole is basically broken. Were it not for the efforts of a number of individuals, it would actually be unfit for purpose.
The reasons are many and varied but essentially boil down to this: no one, from the States of Deliberation down to other departments including HR and Treasury and Resources, really knows what they are doing with Education.
The review’s language is more diplomatic and speaks of roles and relationships and the need for balanced teams, but the meaning is clear.
Education has actually performed astonishingly well in the absence of clear political leadership or cohesive management and despite having an exceptionally challenging and wide-ranging job to do.
What genuinely puzzles the report’s author is the gulf between those who believe the department does excellently and those who say it performs woefully. The research shows no possibility of reconciling those opposing views but is clear in concluding that things cannot continue as they are.
That is acknowledged by the Policy Council and Education itself but the task of rebuilding the department from top to bottom and properly defining its role in a corporate context will have to wait until after the election.
However, odd though the report is, it actually sets out a framework within which, if followed, both sides can claim victory.
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