Ms Chapman angry

Press, 30 March 1989, Page 6

Ms Chapman angry

JENNY LONG

Ms Ruth Chapman is angered by the response the State Services Commission has finally given to a report commissioned by the P.P.T.A. on the effect that proposed changes would have in schools. The report, by Mr Rae Munro, said that while increased parental involvement would be positive for schools, the transfer of industrial relations decisions to individual schools would not bring the best results. The P.P.T.A., in releasinig the report last month, said it would be happy for and independent audit to be done on the report, but the commission had not given any response. Yesterday the commission released its response to “The Press,” saying, that it doubted whether Mr Munra* was a

neutral observer as he had been associated with the P.P.T.A. for many years. The Munro report took an “extreme view” of the proposed riianagement model, seeing it as hierarchical — with teachers’ rights, responsibilities, and conditions of employment being almost totally subject to the powers of boards of trustees. The report selectively compared overseas findings with the proposed model, the commission said. Ms Chapman said the response was a slur on Mr Munro’s integrity. “He undertook to do the report only on condition that it would be independent. If the results had been unfavourable, and against what we wanted, we would have had to live with that,” said. -1