Battle lines drawn !

Yesterdays two hour teachers strike was the first round of an ongoing battle to reform the education system in this state.    The government is locked in a battle to give more power to head teachers over who teaches in their schools - and to award higher pay where it is deserved.

The militant teacher's union is determined to retain the " public service " ethos of hiring and placing it's members. It is anathema to even consider awarding pay preference or promotion on results achieved.  It will fight tooth and nail to keep teachers within the faceless and anonymous ranks of public servants who do precisely what is required in their job specification - no more and no less - and will progress through the system based entirely on seniority and length of service.

There is a degree of truth in both sides of the argument !

Letting head teachers " manage " by having control of their school budgets and the hiring and firing power to select staff will improve teaching standards, but it will also confer on government's an opportunity to shift blame if they reduce education funding.   Being a talented head teacher does not necessarily include good management skills.  Some head teachers will be found wanting in that regard.

Managing the school budget will provide an incentive to increase class sizes and there is no doubt that any responsible head teacher will employ new staff on a casual basis for the first few terms while their ability is evaluated.                     For the first time, teachers will be required to "perform" to attain that much sought after " permanent " classification.

It seems to be a classical case of " the swings and the roundabouts ".     Twelve months after the new regime is in place there will be some horror stories about how it went wrong, but there will be some shining examples of how it brought education to new heights.

It will be an interesting battle between the government and the teachers union to win the hearts and minds of parents, but there is certainly room for improvement in the education system and most probably what will emerge is some sort of compromise.

Sorting out that compromise seems likely to be a long period of inconvenience to parents - and political cut and thrust in the parliament as one side of politics sits behind the teachers - and the other opts for reform !