As the battle lines start to be drawn over a supposedly impartial review of the taxpayer funding of the private colleges, their three principals have highlighted an area that should provide a focus for the investigation.

Tribal Consulting has correctly raised under the financial transformation programme the spending of £4.5m on the private schools and recommends that it should stop because in its view there is no rationale behind it and that what the taxpayer spends on States schools ensures that there is adequate provision for pupils in that sector.

If that means there are sufficient places available, then why indeed is so much money being lavished on schools which many islanders view as a form of elitism?

Yet the comments from the principals suggest that a different view can be taken.

In their considered opinion, they provide an education to many island schoolchildren at a lower cost to the public purse than if those same pupils attended one of the States-run schools.

If correct, then that shifts the argument from one of cost reduction to one of best value.

On the assumption that the quality of education at the colleges is at least as good as that provided by the States but costs less, why isn’t there more of it?

One of the guiding principles of the spending review started by the States is to ensure that government only provides services that cannot or should not be delivered by the private sector.

Since there are many islanders who believe the colleges do a better job than the States sector, they presumably would welcome an extension of that private franchise, particularly as it would be cheaper.

No, clearly it is not as simple as that, for this is a complex area. But previous debates about college funding and the 11-plus have become politicised and lost focus as a result.

If the island can get a quality education ‘product’ for its children at a lower unit cost than it does at present, then that is worth exploring.

Ultimately, it is the teaching that matters – not who provides it.