Frantic race for next secretary general

TEACHER'S PET:An insider's guide to education

ONLY ONE question is dominating the thoughts of senior education figures: who will be the next secretary general of the Department of Education?

Brigid McManus is due to step down in January after seven years at the helm, and a frantic race to succeed her is under way. To make matters more intriguing, no one appears to have the slightest notion about the preferences of the Minister, Ruairí Quinn. Would he prefer an internal or external candidate?

Four internal candidates are thought to be in the hunt. They are assistant secretaries Martin Hanevy, Seán Ó Foghlú and Kevin McCarthy, plus the department’s relatively new chief inspector, Harold Hislop. Hanevy’s breezy, confident style has made a big impression on Quinn, while Ó Foghlu’s management of the messy school-buildings division has also earned plaudits from the Minister.

McCarthy is the long-time wunderkind of the department, respected for his management of higher education.

Hislop, a former TCD lecturer, is another strong contender. Quinn likes his push for higher standards in schools since he became chief inspector.

What’s clear is that anyone in the department associated with the lamentable drop in Ireland’s education rankings has no chance. Inevitably, the position will attract high-flyers from other Government departments, State agencies and the private sector.

There is some speculation that Tom Boland, the head of the Higher Education Authority, could return to the department, where he served as a senior legal adviser, among other roles. Boland was one of the first to raise questions about the questionable deal between the Catholic Church and the State a decade ago.

His combative style at a meeting last year of the Public Accounts Committee, where he took on UCD president Hugh Brady over special payments, was much admired in Marlborough Street.

191:Number of academics in Irish universities still earning more than €150,000 a year

A teacher like no other

Take a chemistry teacher who is overqualified for his work, give him 18 months to live and draw him into the criminal underworld via a crystal-meth empire. That's the pitch of the Emmy-winning TV series Breaking Bad(pictured).

Take it from us: this series is a masterpiece, the best thing on TV since The Wire. After watching Byran Cranston's dazzling performance, you will never see your old chemistry teacher in quite the same light.

Full marks for Áine Hyland

The terrific report by Prof Áine Hyland on college admissions raises one question: why was Hyland not put in charge of the review of higher education?

The Hyland report is everything the Hunt report is not: readable, incisive and thought-provoking.

Sandford hits the billboards

Interesting to see Sandford Park, the private, fee-paying school in Ranelagh in Dublin, advertising on bus shelters. Our reporters have even spotted the billboards on the northside, in Artane and Clontarf. What’s next?

Got any education gossip? E-mail teacherspet@irishtimes.com