African secondary school principals have resolved to establish an institute to train them in management
The principals will also lobby for their admission as observers at the African Union (AU) through President Uhuru Kenyatta. They said they would either partner with universities or run an online institute to better manage schools on the continent. Speaking at the end of the African Confederation of Principals (ACP) conference in Mombasa yesterday, Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) chairman Alfred Indimuli underscored the importance of starting an institute to prepare principals to properly discharge their duties.
“We have resolved to have an institute in Africa to train principals in running their schools. It doesn’t have to be anchored in a particular country. We can just partner with universities or have the training online,” Mr Indimuli said after he was declared president of the continental body.
He took over the two-year ACP presidency from South Africa’s Themvwekile Ndlovu. All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools chairman Anselm Izuagie was elected the ACP vice president. There was song and dance as the principals offered Indimuli a shield, spear, stool and sour milk during the colourful installation ceremony. The conference attracted 1,200 principals from countries including Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Indimuli said they were hopeful of achieving observer status at the AU after Uhuru promised to lobby on their behalf when he opened the conference on Tuesday.
“We want to attain observer status to attract more members and have a common thinking and voice in the formulation of education policies in Africa,” he said. Ms Ndlovu said it was important for African countries to share best practices and for school managers to encourage governments to implement what works. The ACP also resolved to lobby governments to increase education budgets to cater for facilities and teacher training.
Courtesy of The Standard
