CONSULTATION

Higher education wishes to play its part in, and bring its knowledge and expertise to bear on, the development of mathematics in the schools of this country. It seeks to do so in co-operation with schools and further education colleges, with government and with other concerned bodies. This, however, is rendered extremely difficult by the techniques adopted by SCAA. It is necessary, therefore, to comment explicitly on SCAA's currently preferred mechanisms --- primarily large-scale `consultation' exercises, and ad hoc committees. At best these mechanisms allow for outside bodies to comment, or to provide input. There is no genuine dialogue, or discussion --- the system is too one-sided, with the agenda and all decisions about which questions to raise and which issues to pursue, being controlled in-house. The ad hoc committees selected by SCAA's secretariat provide those bodies with whom they should be routinely cooperating with no systematic representation, no continuity, and no stake in agenda setting. Thus power is concentrated within SCAA itself. This effectively frustrates all unwelcome attempts at cooperation on the part of bodies representing teachers, academics, or employers.

We are facing serious challenges. Only if all parts of the education system work together will true progress be made.