TNAG-0178-FCO40-214-Education-policy-1969 — Page 57

who is to decide? Are the parents and

children simply to be told by the educativo? Nathan on day?

of school best suited for their needs, as selection would no longer be confused by economic considerations.

The Department

It is unlikely that any such radical overhaul can be attempted with the present administration, which lacks all direction and is completely moribund. Discussion and suggestions are discouraged, decisions are postponed and progress is non-existent. The Colonial Secretariat applies the dead hand of bureaucratic control to any ideas which accidentally reach them.

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The chief blame for this rests on the system, rather than on individuals. The stultifying effect is progressive a good man joins the administrative service, finds he cannot make any progress and either leaves or gives up trying. Over the years, therefore, the Department has become filled with discouraged mediocrities.

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The present Director was brought in from outside to cope with this situation and on arrival seemed set to do so. The system has, however proved too strong and he is now retiring with very little achieved.

The Deputy Director seems to me capable, but he is very orthodox "Government" wh

in his views, and seems completely unacceptable to a very large part of the general public for personality reasons.

There are at present six Assistant Directors. Of the men who circulate around these posts only one is Chinese. He seems capable but lacks the drive needed for any form of clean-up. Of the Europeans, the most capable is resigning, and three others reach retirement within the next eighteen months or two years. The remaining officers at this level show no signs of any initiative at all.

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At the Senior Officer level there are one or two good men in specialized fields. They would probably not agree to move to straight administration, nor would it be wise to attempt it as they are specialists. Otherwise the senior officers openly search for sinecures and wait for retirement to catch them up.

Not surprisingly, the chief interest of the more junior members of the Department is in their personal promotion to higher grades – not with any i intention of doing a responsible job, but with the hope of doing as little work as their seniors.

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I do not think this is overstated. Nothing progressive can be achieved at the present time, without enormous pressure being exerted from outside. It is frequently necessary to make use of unofficial members of Leg. Co. or Ex. Co. to bully senior Government officials in order to extract even simple routine decisions out of members of the Education Department. The policy approved in 1965 has not only failed to be implemented but no visible progress has been made towards implementing some of the more fundamental changes. Members of the Government service openly say that full implementation will never be achieved because they (i.e. the Government Officers) do not want it.

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The only solution to this type of situation lies, in my view, in deliberately that the Lypt

setting out to break the absolute power of the Departmental civil servant.

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I would suggest the use of much smaller administrative units (Local Education An Authorities) five or six for the Colony which would have the oversight of the

schools in their own aron. Those should have strong non-Government control, through elooted or appointed local committees. The Departmont could then concern Itself solely with overall finance and planning (as the Department of Education and Science in the U.K.). Our present situation is rather as if the British 1. C'iters di

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