Charting a new education journey

As the newly-minted education minister assumes his responsibilities, TTUTA congratulates Dr Michael Dowlat on his appointment as head of one of the largest and most complex ministries.

We look forward to a harmonious and collaborative working relationship, acutely mindful of the myriads of challenges facing the education system.

As he transitions from his role as a principal to minister, where he is now responsible for the formulation and execution of education policy consistent with government’s national development agenda, it is important to highlight some of the critical issues engaging the attention of TTUTA.

While mindful of the economic challenges, the issue of school funding and timely attention to facility management always sits atop the education agenda. This has and continues to be a major deterrent to the provision of quality education in many of the nation’s schools, despite the best efforts of successive governments.

It is sincerely hoped that in this new dispensation, a revamped decentralised approach will be adopted to treat the issue of school repair and routine maintenance in a more effective and efficient manner, having regard to the deleterious impact it can have on the smooth running of schools.

Again, TTUTA is willing and ready to work closely with the ministry in developing creative solutions in this regard.

As a former school administrator (and member of the association), Dr Dowlat is acutely aware of the need for principals to maintain a certain level of autonomy in the daily management of their schools consistent with their job descriptions.

Past approaches of micromanagement and emasculation of the powers of principals have resulted in the daily management of schools being unnecessarily bureaucratic and cumbersome, where the leadership of the Ministry had become over-concerned with procedure at the expense of efficiency or common sense.

This approach was patently diametrical to the principles of school-based management which the literature has consistently articulated as a fundamental pillar of effective schools.

In this approach, school officials were prevented from undertaking tasks that were previously deemed routine. The lack of trust in the competence of school leaders as site managers who are au courant with the unique nuances of their schools, was and continues to have a deleterious impact on the capacity of school principals to lead and manage their schools effectively and efficiently.

The lack of delegation, excessive scrutiny and an inordinate focus on trivial details rather than overarching goals seemed to have preoccupied the attention of the ministry hierarchy in the past dispensation, much to the chagrin and consternation of TTUTA. In this regard, the issue of institutional strengthening should return as a priority agenda focus of the ministry.

The apparent obsession with control of every facet of the daily operation of schools made a mockery of the concept of school leadership.

It displayed a blatant and severe lack of trust in the capacity of principals to run their schools, resulting in the stagnation of creativity and demotivation of teachers through a rigid system of redundant approvals, reducing school administrators at every level to mere clerical officers.

TTUTA has repeatedly pointed to the idiocy and silliness of this approach to school management, for it flew in the face of prevailing literature.

Another priority agenda item awaiting the urgent attention of the new minister is the timely allocation of adequate resources. Teachers simply cannot perform their duties effectively if schools are lacking in the provision of basic resources.

Quality schools are characterised by quality resources such as adequate technology, failing which schools will be unable to be relevant to the needs of twenty-first century learners or deliver on the overarching mandate of creating a knowledge society that is globally competitive. This is a critical component of ensuring equity in the delivery of education.

As usual, the honorable minister will be required to engage the association in a timely basis to collaborate on the resolution of those bureaucratic and snail-paced administrative systems that result in delays in the upgrade of teachers, timely payment of increments and acting allowances and the long list of items that routinely characterize meetings between the association and the ministry.

These delays in the administrative arm of the ministry have and continue to be a major source of anguish and frustration to thousands of teachers and school personnel as the minister must be acutely aware of having been a career educator himself.

As he settles into this new role as the face of education, we anticipate his astute leadership.