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Education’s ongoing saga of review and restructure

Jul 03, 2013
Jennifer Rankine Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

Jennifer Rankine Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

The latest independent review of the education department is one more in a long line of “reviews and realignments” that appear to have had little impact.

Former Chief Executive of the Victorian Education Department Peter Allen has agreed to conduct the latest review, announced yesterday as “a thorough examination of the department’s processes and practices”.

“Mr Debelle’s report highlighted failings in the systems and practices of the department,” Education Minister Jennifer Rankine admitted yesterday.

On Rankine’s blunt assessment of her department, previous reviews, dating back to July 2002 must have been duds.

“Reviews appear to have been undertaken in 2002/2003, 2005, and 2008/2009,” according to an SA Parliamentary Library research paper, commissioned by the Opposition education spokesman David Pisoni.

“Based on organisational charts … there also appears to have been a management restructure in 2007 and, on a smaller scale, in 2009 and, on a much smaller scale, in 2010.”

The first review was commissioned by the Rann Government shortly after coming to power in March 2002.

The relevant minister, Trish White, appointed a new CEO Steven Marshall (no relation to the now Opposition Leader).

Marshall’s review and “realignment” lasted until 2003.

An internal review and restructure also took place within the department.

The department was split in two with training and employment responsibilities carved off.

In 2003 Jane Lomax-Smith became the education minister, responsible for the trimmed down department.

In 2005, DECS underwent a “refinement of the departmental structure”.

In 2006 Christopher Robinson was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and further organisational changes were made with two deputy CEOs appointed to oversee the department’s four key divisions.

By 2008, it was time to re-arrange the chairs again.

The State Government implemented a new region-based system of service provision for all the public sector, including the Department of Education and Children’s Services.

“DECS realigned its structure for the introduction of regional boundaries which it began using in 2009,” the research report shows.

By this time, there were two ministers: Jane Lomax-Smith was Minister for Education and Jay Weatherill was Minister for Early Childhood Development.

One year later and the ship lost one of its captains when there was a return to only one relevant minister, Jay Weatherill, who was Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development.

As minister, Weatherill indicated he wanted to renovate the relationship between schools and the department, and put out a discussion paper about how this might happen.

When Weatherill succeeded Premier Mike Rann in October 2011, he handed the education portfolio to his former chief of staff, Hartley MP Grace Portolesi.

Under constant fire over her handling of the department and the child sex abuse cases, Portolesi was dropped from the role in January 2013, saying there were “significant issues that need to be addressed” in the department.

After five ministers, almost constant organisational review and restructures, the Allen Review will focus on “organisational changes that will help to prevent systemic failings in future” and “make recommendations to improve the accuracy, reliability, timeliness and consistency of advice to school communities and the Government”.

The question is after so many changes and reviews: how can the public have any confidence in that?

 

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