The newly appointed chief executive of the Department of Education and Children says he’s under ‘no illusion it will be anything other than a challenging job’.
Professor Ronald Barr, who has been principal of Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education for three years, succeeds Stuart Dobson, who retires at the end of August.
He described his new role as ‘natural career progression’.
It involves ‘scaling up’ the number of staff he manages from about 250 to more than 2,000 and the budget from about £11 million to £95 million.
Prof Barr said he was ‘very excited’ to be taking on responsibility for the island’s 38 schools, the college and the youth service from September.
Budgetary constraints on the DEC has forced it to make a number of difficult and contentious decisions over the last 18 months.
They include the introduction of university tuition fees and the privatisation of pre-schools.
When asked whether he would be prepared to make further difficult decisions, Prof Barr, aged 49, said: ‘As we go forward we have to make balanced decisions, in consultation with those involved. That’s parents, employers and employees.
‘Nobody pretends things are easy and there are decisions that are often quite difficult.
‘I think the thing is to make sure they are as balanced and measured as they possibly can be.’
Among a list of priorities he listed was whether the island would follow English plans for GCSE and A-level reform, or follow a different jurisdiction such as Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Education chiefs in Wales and Northern Ireland have held talks about introducing a joint GCSE award, while students in Scotland sit Standard Grades and Highers.
‘It’s a question of what best fits the Isle of Man,’ he said.
He said there needed to be continued development of further education and vocational training so the island can diversify and ‘move away from too much dependence on financial services.’
And Prof Barr wants to see the island offering students more choices in higher education ‘as the cost of higher education continues to rise’.
In primary schools, he said one of the challenges being faced was that, in some, there was a ‘significant number of pupils’ for whom English was not their first language.
Prof Barr also wants to tackle child poverty and issues of obesity and healthy eating.
And he said that engaging youngsters with new technology was a challenge.
‘We have a big challenge to educate young people to use that fantastic technology but also how to protect themselves.
‘How they use Facebook, social networking sites and how they judge information they get from the internet.
Prof Barr takes on the new role from September 1, but will be attending a range of briefings over the summer with key officers in the department and civil service as part of the transition.
Mr Dobson has been chief executive since January 2011. He took over as the full effects of the cash shortfall caused by the VAT renegotiation took hold.
Prof Barr said that Mr Dobson had done a ‘terrific job’.
In total, Prof Barr has spent six and a half years at the college, as assistant principal, deputy principal, and finally as principal.
A new special needs unit is due to open at the college in September, and plans have been submitted for improved engineering and construction craft training facilities.
Prior to that he was head of history and archaeology at the University of Chester and held a professorship.
He originally trained as a high school teacher in Aberdeen.