Dr Jim Eedle was the first secretary Of Education in the Northern Territory. That was after we took over from the Commonwealth. He met with principals at a conference in Katherine in March 1979.

He told us to always remember that schools were for children. he told us the departmental structure should serve that function and should never supplant the purpose of education.

I often wondered as the years went by how far we were drifting from that wise advice. In my retirement years and watching systems, particularly our system, I still wonder why it is that that advice seems no longer to be a primary driver.