Ravlich Relegated.
The minister of education in WA, Ljiljanna Ravlich, has been assigned a more junior portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle.
Ravlich was the architect of the states ill-conceived foray OBE courses that were to be introduced into the state's senior schools.
Recently the minister was at the centre of a Crime and Corruption Commission probe into the Department of educations mishandling of several sexual misconduct allegations.
The new minister of education is now Mark McGowan, who was previously the minister of the environment.
Education bureaucrats in WA faced a tumultuous year in 2006 with several key players being dumped before Ravlich herself was effectively sacked from educations top job.
Paul Albert (another OBE supporter) who was the director general of the department of education and training accepted a "management initiated retirement'' as a result of the CCC probe.
David Axworthy, another OBE apologist, the acting-chief executive of the curriculum council was also overlooked for the position and has not been heard from since.
The curriculum council itself has been under enormous pressure after bringing OBE to WA and has had four chief executives in 12 months. Norma Jeffery, the last permanent chief executive, was controversially moved aside last August after criticism of OBE. Her replacement, Greg Robson, quit to take up a job at the South Australian Education Department.
OBE itself is still undergoing constant scrutiny in WA and several of the re-written OBE-style "Courses of Study" were reaccredited by the curriculum council last week. Teachers in WA are having summer holidays at this time so undoubtably we will hear more in these issues in late January/early February when the "refined" courses are unveiled.