Picot report release earlier than planned

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 4

Picot report release earlier than planned

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

The report of the Picot Education Committee will now be released on May 10, about a week earlier than intended. The report, on education administration, was commissioned by the Government last year. The committee is headed by an Auckland businessman, Mr Brian Picot. It has heard submissions from more than 700 individuals and organisations.

The report is now in the hands of the Government and although the Minister of Education, Mr Lange, is overseas it is being considered in draft form while the final report is being printed. Mr Lange said the Government would consider the report’s recommendations and also ask for individual comment from the public and interested parties before any decisions or changes were made. "The Press” has been

told that if the Government is to implement the recommendations of the report in time for the first term in 1990, implementation will have to begin on October 1 this year.

This means the Government has 4)4 months in which to either secure agreement or decide to press ahead anyway. A Wellington consultancy, Logos Public Relations, Ltd, has been appointed to help release the information in the report and to collate the

response to it. Mr Lange said he hoped the issues raised in the Picot report could be debated constructively and positively. The issue at stake was the reason for the existence of the education system — New Zealand’s children, he said. When released on May 10, the report will be distributed to all interested parties that afternoon and will be available in Government bookshops the next day.