Leadership in Schools, Hyderabad, Feb 2006

I conducted some sessions in a training programme meant for school principals. The programme was titled "Leadership in Schools" and it was organised collaboratively by the following three agencies:

IL&FS Education & Technology Services Ltd.
Society for Educational Advancement
Future Focus Foundation

The programme was conducted during Feb 1-5, 2006 in Hyderabad, India, with around 20 participants. Among the participants were school principals and education entrepreneurs who have set up schools and other academic institutions. The principals came from a wide range of schools, including international schools as well as national board schools located in remote districts.

The focus of the programme was on creating an awareness among the participants of their roles as leaders and managers of educational institutions. Some sessions also focused on developing skills relevant to educational leadership. The programme included sessions on the following topics:

Strategic decision making in schools
Leadership roles and styles
Schools in the changing context
Managing innovations in schools*
Instructional leadership
Information technology applications in schools
Managerial effectiveness
Building a learning community in schools*
Managing change
Counseling in schools
Management systems*

* My sessions

Based on my experience in this programme, I think there is an enormous need for management training in the education sector. It seems, educational institutions have to contend with a fairly large set of management challenges, such as preventing teacher attrition, ensuring child development, clarifying school objectives, adopting relevant educational technology, involving the wider community, etc. In the absense of any other mechanism of selection, either experienced teachers or persons close to the founders/promoters are made school principals. Consequently, most pricipals seem to have a rather inadequate grasp of their leadership responsibilities--much of their energies being directed at day-to-day administrative and operational minutiae. Devoid of any strategic clarity, many schools tend to become victims of the personal idiosyncrasies of their principals--often producing person-centric management systems. Many schools are unable to deal with the management challenges they face. There seems to be a growing awareness of the need for management training and professional development within the education sector.