Picot bets on average man

Press, 5 July 1988, Page 8

Picot bets on average man

Mr Brian Picot, the man recommending the biggest shake-up in New Zealand education, laid a bet at Lincoln yesterday that “the average man” would be equal to the challenges of the new system. The Picot task force on education administration has recommended that much of the control of schools should pass to parents and communities. Principals made it clear yesterday that they largely welcomed the changes, but needed more

details. Speaking at Lincoln College to school principals, Mr Picot said that while some communities doubted there was sufficient parent interest, he still felt the recommendations would work. “I’ll put my money on the average commonsense man every day of the week.” Mr Picot, who later changed “common-sense man” to “person,” said the ordinary parents would come forward, as they were vitally con-

cerned about their child’s education. Mr Picot said it was noticeable that “almost every school community welcomed the recommendations as far as their group was concerned — but was sure that other groups would not cope.” The new boards of trustees, which are to administer schools, will be made up largely of parents, and principals felt that itcould be difficult to ensure that these reflected the ethnic and cultural mix of the community.

Mr Picot said the report was a framework only, and many specific issues would be addressed later. However, the task force had as its central point the fact that education was for pupils, and what should be done to make things better for them. The Government had received nearly 20,000 submissions on the report, and expected to announce final decisions on the proposals towards the end of July, said the Minister of Education’s office yesterday.