Education authorities are considering subjecting school principals to competency tests before their appointment, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Friday.
Briefing reporters after meeting the Council of Education Ministers in Pretoria, she said, “Council is considering whether prospective principals should undergo competency tests prior to appointment.”
“This is to strengthen accountability of principals in the system and to ensure that suitable candidates with the appropriate competencies and skills set are appointed to lead our schools”.
She said the council would also look at changing legislation to allow education department heads to appoint school principals.
The appointment of principals had been problematic, the minister said.
Legal battles
Opposition to the appointment of principals had led to legal battles between school governing bodies (SGBs) and provincial heads of education departments.
From next year, all principals would be expected to enter into performance agreements with their provincial department heads, Motshekga said.
“We take leadership of our schools very seriously. Evidence has shown that a good school is the one run by a good leader. The principal is a critical position we cannot leave to chance.”
She said problems relating to the appointment of principals related primarily to underperforming schools.
Low achievement
“We don’t want to fix what is not broken. We don’t want to interfere with those schools with highly functional SGBs. This time the target is the previously disadvantaged schools where we have problems with the quality of people leading our schools.”
The council approved the 2013 schools calendar and the 2012 national Senior Certificate Supplementary, the national Senior Certificate and the 2012 Senior Cerificate Examination timetables.
An integrated national literacy and numeracy strategy was adopted by the council and would be introduced next year.
Motshekga said the strategy was aimed at addressing low achievement levels of pupils in literacy and numeracy. — Sapa