Port Louis — Every five years in our paradise island, the nation goes to the polls to elect a new government, which swears to serve the economic, social, educational and other needs of the country.

As soon as they take office, however, the ministers of the newly elected assembly not only introduce new initiatives but also dismantle every initiative or policy introduced by the previous government irrespective of whether those initiatives are beneficial or not. The interest of the nation is quickly forgotten: what is of utmost priority and importance is to put in place policies, which are totally different from what the previous government initiated.

In the case of education, a number of good initiatives have in the past been introduced which need time to bear the expected fruit and often will not during the current government's mandate. The main reason is that five years are a long time in politics are very short in education: this sector being one of the most conservative, most education policies take much more than the length of a parliament to produce results. The fact that new ministers constantly change their predecessor's policies before any long-term outcomes are known does not help.

Education can't be run like a business with constant changes at the top and a constant overhauling of previous policies. In too many cases, the new government has deliberately undone what the previous one did without a thought for children and teachers, the most notorious example being the reintroduction of ranking with the A+ at CPE level. Under such circumstances, is it not time to seek an alternative to politicians to manage our education system?

One worth examining is the creation of an independent body to decide value for money issues in a business-like way, rather than through bargaining and lobbying. An empowered carefully chosen/elected independent body would allow a more rational, long-term approach to education. Its two great strengths would be the fact that it will be non-partisan and mandated to take the long-term view, which is a must in the implementation of educational policies and initiatives.

Most people would agree that raising productivity is the key to sustaining long-term economic growth. Critical to the goal of raising productivity is the raising of educational standards and the need to improve and reform our education system and maintain its competitive position particularly in light of the growing challenges from emerging economies such as China, India, Russia and Brazil.

A valid question for any government and also for the nation to ask is whether it is right and proper for any administration today to be the sole arbiter of the nation's educational challenges.

This independent body could be called Education Policy Commission and it would replace short-term, eye-catching initiatives with professionally appraised, evidence-based, medium- and long-term strategies. The creation of such a commission with a sufficiently broad mandate to address the complex educational problems this country faces seems to be the solution.

It makes sense to have an independent EPC with a Chairperson and permanent board members who are competent and experienced in education matters, both from the ministry of Education and externally. However, the sole criteria for membership should be competence, experience, expertise and independence, irrespective of age, religion, gender, caste and, most importantly, political affiliation. The EPC could have 15 members, of which a few would be from outside the education departments.

They would be appointed for fixed, non-renewable terms, and led by a senior and successful educator. The government of the day could have the right to nominate a couple of new board members as well as set some specific objectives of the EPC as is the case with the Public Service Commission.

The main remit of an EPC mandate could include the following:

1. To assess, measure, monitor, analyse and report, independently of the government, on all aspects of educational performance, including internal and international comparisons of achievement.

2. To research into the needs of our children now and in the future and its findings to form the basis for recommendations about the appropriate schooling system and all its various forms of assessment and examinations.

3. To publish policy papers on a regular basis on the scope, objectives and goals of primary, secondary and tertiary education.

4. To comment on the rationale of initiatives and their cost-effectiveness.

5. To recommend appropriate policies for the primary and secondary sectors.

6. To opine on some aspects of tertiary education, especially on important matters related to the optimal number of students that might aim for university, as well as the breadth and depth of degrees offered.

7. To research on the education policies of the government and express a clear view on its programmes to enhance the accountability of the government for its educational policy and performance.

8. To give structured insights into the roles played by teachers and head teachers and how they could be more effective.

9. To research and publish on best practice in the private and publicly funded sectors of education.

Implementation of these proposals would be quite straightforward, but what role would be left for the government? Governments and prospective governments could give us a broad vision of what our education system should offer. It will be for voters to decide on which system they find most compelling, better informed thanks to the activities of the EPC. The idea of a non-party political group of experts to sift evidence and advise governments - but not to take decisions - is feasible and could be workable.

Why would any government want to hand some of the responsibility to an independent body for what has been, typically, a critical and sensitive part of government responsibility? Governments are elected to lead, and running the country's education system is a critical element of that task.

The answer is easy: the government of the day needs to run the education system more smartly and independently but most crucially, to benefit the nation as a whole. Also, decisions about education taken today are unlikely to achieve substantial results during much of the term of office of a government that made them although some ministers of Education might beg to differ.

With an EPC determining some priorities, the government would still be responsible for deciding on key items of education expenditure, but an independent Education Policy Commission with power, credibility and respect would help ensure that education spending would effectively reflect the long-term challenges of the country.

However, the success and failure of new education policies will be clearly measurable at some point. This is the benefit and beauty of an EPC. It is working everywhere and there is no reason why it should not work in Paradise Island. The previous government introduced many policies, some very positive ones like abolishing of ranking and regionalisation of schools, although there were a few, which were complete disasters like the introduction and implementation of the Literacy and Numeracy projects which has cost the taxpayer a hefty sum of Rs 58 million with nothing to show.

Existence of an EPC would have required the personnel responsible for the disasters to account for the failures. Instead, some of these very personnel have been rewarded by promotions or their advisory roles contracts extended. To stop an incoming government from not continuing an initiative started by the outgoing one simply because it was started by the now opposition although such policies may have positive outcomes, is it not time to give previous policies a chance to work?

It certainly makes educational sense to have an independent Education Policy Commission. There will still be a minister of Education but his/her decisions will be solidly and rationally informed and the welfare of the children and country will really prevail. What do you think, Honourable Minister?