Training Program In Leadership Development For Directors Of State Schools

In a one of a kind initiative, the school education department of Andhra Pradesh will launch a month-long residential certificate program in school leadership development for state school principals beginning May 1.

About 100 newly promoted school principals, eight from each district, will receive hands-on training during the month-long program. The National Center for School Leadership at NIEPA, New Delhi, has designed the induction program for school principals. The curriculum of the program will cover several key areas, including ways to transform the teaching learning process, lead and build teams, school administration and major innovations.

Speaking with TOI, V Vijaya Durga, coordinator of the course, State Council for Educational Research and Training of Andhra Pradesh APSCERT, said that the main objective of the residential program is to improve leadership skills and build a perspective on school leadership among the directors of newly promoted schools. It would help them develop a proactive leadership approach that would only execute routine administrative work. The program will be carried out in collaboration with the National Institute for Planning and Administration of Education, New Delhi, said Vijaya Durga. He also said that SCERT will take care of the accommodation and boarding requirements of school principals.

Under the program, the school education department has set the goal of having at least 30 percent female members in the first group. The department has instructed district education officials to identify teachers to participate in the program before April 20.

The school system in India has witnessed a huge expansion in recent years in

an unprecedented pace, which makes access to primary education almost universal.

The increase in the number of secondary schools has also been great and has accelerated

Advancing towards universal provision in various parts of the country while this

quantitative expansion has had a significant impact on the level of participation.

Of the children, concerns about quality have remained. There is an increase in

realization that quality concerns cannot be addressed only at the macro level

strategies. It requires changing our approach to reforms at the system level to the school

level actions. With more than 1.5 million schools to deal with, this is not easy

task and cannot be addressed through any action at the central level. Demand more

direct participation of local actors to transform each school into a productive one, learning organization.

 

By: Preeti Narula