OF ALL places where a meritocracy should operate, the education system is a prime example. Young people are sent there to study and to acquire a set of values that will prepare them for life. And yet the management system in our secondary schools is deeply flawed, with internal promotions based on length of service rather than on merit. Not only does such a system deliver poor quality management, it sends a deeply negative signal to ambitious pupils.
In today's world, where the encouragement of innovation and creativity can make the difference between economic success and failure, you would think the ASTI, a trade union that represents 70,000 secondary teachers, would facilitate and welcome change. But, no. In spite of an undertaking to reform the system in the national pay agreement, it has told the Department of Education the practice of awarding promotional posts on the basis of seniority must stay.
Change is difficult. But it is one of the absolute certainties in life. And Taoiseach Brian Cowen is beginning to grapple with its challenges and uncertainties as he rolls out his political programme. A new wave of modernisation and productivity is required in order to sustain prosperity. Mr Cowen spoke to the Institute of Public Administration of the need for public service flexibility and of senior managers being given greater autonomy and encouraged to experiment. Better and more efficient services were required from public administration along with the creation of a "performance culture".
It was a far cry from the not-an-inch attitude of the ASTI. The dislocation between the two positions reflects the distance that will have to be travelled in terms of public service reform. Promotion on the basis of "Buggins turn" has disappeared in the private sector. Advancement within primary, vocational and community schools is also largely based on merit, with some weighting for experience. But the ASTI holds out, ignoring the damage being done to effective school management and to a central tenet of education.
On becoming Taoiseach, Mr Cowen spoke of bringing about change in society through education, the adoption of new technologies and community development. It is a broad agenda. Nothing less than social transformation is envisaged and it will take leadership, imagination and a deal of youthful energy to bring it about. Within the public service, one of the greatest sources of frustration is the toleration of underperformance. That must change, along with the ASTI promotional system.