Change in structure of Department of Education

19/7/01
A change in the structure of the Department of Education to provide more direct support to schools has been announced today by Education Minister Alan Carpenter.
The Minister said the restructure was a key recommendation of the taskforce he set up to review the services and resources provided to Government schools.
"The review, headed by the University of WA Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson, has recommended that these changes be implemented as a matter of priority," he said.
"Four of the six members of the top level of management in the department accepted the redundancies the Government offered to senior executives so it was important to make the changes as soon as possible.
"Also, with school starting next Monday, it is important to have a clear leadership structure in place.
"The previous five executive directors will be replaced by three, two of whom focus on the key areas of teaching and learning and one dealing with corporate services.
"This will form a tighter education leadership team better able to focus on delivering support to our education districts and schools.
"For example, the previous structure led to inefficiencies and created more work for schools through different accountability standards across the divisions.
"This change will streamline the department and result in one less executive position at the most senior level."
Mr Carpenter said the department would appoint people to act in the new positions on a temporary basis until they could be filled permanently.
He also said the position of Director General would be advertised shortly.
The Minister expects to receive the final review report from Professor Robson by the end of the month when it will be tabled in Parliament.
Media contact: Owen Cole 9213 6800