Guernsey’s Education Law Overhaul to Be Implemented in Stages

Modifications to Guernsey’s 55-year-old education legislation will be rolled out progressively, according to the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture. President Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen indicated that the initial segment of these changes, which will address governance, is anticipated to be presented to the States early in the new year. The committee had withdrawn earlier proposals mid-debate last June, a decision that critics at the time characterized as “humiliating.” Dudley-Owen explained that the prior proposals encompassed all facets of the reforms, signifying that “the elephant was too large to chew at one time.” The governance aspect of the proposed reforms will be the sole section to reach the States before June’s general election, Dudley-Owen stated. “We phased it because of the time left in the States, because of resourcing and also it was demonstrated in the debate at the time that possibly the elephant was too large chew at one time,” she said. She added, “It was deemed to be the fairest way to present the education law in bite-sized chunks and also to be able to progress things.” When questioned about her confidence that the subsequent committee would continue the work on education reform, she replied: “I hope so.” For updates, follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Story ideas can be submitted to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the material found on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.