Schools should be run like businesses with principals playing the role of chief executive officer, said Clem Sunter of the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund.
Sunter was one of the speakers at the South African Principals’ Association annual conference held in Bloemfontein, Free State, last month.
He said as school managers, principals need to have short-, medium- and long-term strategic planning in place and must be able to evaluate the environment in which they operate and change their strategy accordingly.
Apart from addressing weighty educational issues, the occasion also provided a platform for principals to bond and to re-affirm the importance of their role. This was captured in the conference’s theme: ‘My profession, my enjoyment, my life.”
Other speakers included Advocate Mojanku Gumbi, legal adviser to President Thabo Mbeki, and Linda Richter. The latter’s speech, aptly titled ‘Modern South African families — what principals need to know”, touched on some of the challenges schools face today. These include dysfunctional families, drug abuse, alcoholism and teenage pregnancies.
And however daunting and complex these are, it is the principal’s responsibility to remain focused and provide leadership to ensure these do not disrupt learning.
A presentation by an ex-convict, Gayton Mackenzie, drove this point home. Mackenzie was jailed for his involvement in gangsterism, and it was his two former principals from Bloemfontein who helped him turn his life around. He is now employed by a security company to give talks at schools on the effects of drugs.
Delegates also benefited from discussions that revolved around five breakaway sessions focusing on the following topics:
– Mind moves to optimise performance;
– Teaching boys, teaching girls: what principals need to know;
– Traditions and values: the making of a school;
– Turning a community around; and
– Reflections on further education and training.