One should perhaps not put too much negative spin on the implications of the recent portfolio allocation and re-allocation. Weighing up the impact of particular nominations on interest groups and the broader implications for national cohesion are normal in any ministerial reshuffle. Devising the most effective strategies for keeping key and perhaps reluctant allies onboard and rewarding loyalty is nothing new. Giving charge of key ministries to ministers of proven talent and integrity should also be welcomed. What is equally expected is that cabinet reshuffles, the world over, do not please everybody.

As it happens, apart from the fact that the reshuffle may initially have been felt to have snubbed some constituencies, on balance, if we all put aside our ethnic cloak and make the national interest our focus, we cannot fail to see that the current round of portfolio re-allocation leaves the Cabinet no worse off. There was, admittedly, no revolution. Nor did we expect one.

Indeed, the recent reshuffle was followed with serenity, almost indifference and we have heard the oft-quoted expression ?bonnet blanc, blanc bonnet? before and after the event. However, there is one sector where many stakeholders may have spent whole nights kneeling and praying. It is that of Education. Not that Mr. Gokhool was or was not a good minister. That is a debate for another day. The fact of the matter is that the situation in our schools had rotted to such an extent that, short of a miracle, nothing could be done to take it out of the depression it had sunk into. And the miracle came in the form of a change of portfolio.

Had Mr. Gokhool been replaced by a beanstalk, the Educational sector would still have thanked God for the miracle and welcomed it with rapturous applause. Though Mr. Gokhool has the merit of having shaken the sector out of its apathy, inertia and complacency, his unilateral approach has left the teaching body wounded, feeling hurt and dejected and, as a result, refusing to cooperate. Teachers standing by the gate in an empty school sucking in death and waiting for the bell to toll are not more productive. Students loitering about or waiting in dubious streets for the teacher to come and start private tuition are not learning more efficiently. PTAs with no Ts have been brought down to their knees. Rectors caught up between their loyalty to the profession and their duty towards the minister find it hard to juggle with the issues involved. Is this worth the half an hour more of school presence!

Mr. Bunwaree is in a most enviable position. The current situation is so bad that whatever he does will be an improvement. Any move will be welcomed with open arms. However, he should not be tempted into hasty decisions. The best thing for him to do is perhaps to do nothing. There have been so many reforms, some not sufficiently prepared, others ill-advised and some sketchy that the sector is now crying for a truce. Piecemeal measures will only worsen the situation. What is needed now is to go back to the old system, take stock of the situation, drum up support and gain the teachers? trust and their willingness to cooperate.

At a later stage, a whole diagnosis of the ills of the sector should be done in collaboration with the stakeholders in Education and a joint proposal owned by all of them should be drafted tackling all the relevant issues. Some of the papers gathering dust in the drawers could also be revisited and clear policies deriving from a vision translating our ambition for our children should be proposed. The newly appointed minister needs to make the difference between beautiful ideas and the reality lived by the children. The ZEP schools, for example, have appeased our minds but have not made a dent in the failure rate!

Will Mr. Bunwaree be able to do it? Will he be able to light up this depressed sector? Will he be able to take advantage of the situation it is in to leave his mark in our history books? He has one chance. It would be a pity if he missed it!