My task today is to consider reforms for the government's regulation of schooling. By way of introduction, let me refer briefly to a talk I gave during my previous visit to New Zealand, in December 1995, entitled 'The Role of the Government in Education'.

In that talk, I questioned whether the government had any role in education at all. Essentially I tried to put all of you, as education administrators, out of business by favouring a system of privately supplied education supplemented by charitable endeavours, with no government involvement. I also discussed the intermediate possibility of introducing an educational voucher system.