Irfan Hamid Sofi ( Teacher HSS Narapora shopian)
The ideal school leader will need to have a background in
both education and management
Nowadays , the role of Principal or Headmaster (School head) has expanded to
include curriculum planning and development, areas pertaining to student
development ( Physical ,intellectual,moral and emotional) , teacher
training,Infrastructural and financial management.
What does the term ‘Principal or Headmaster evoke? Does it stir-call-forth a vision
of a disciplinarian person patrolling the corridors and a sudden hush descending
upon everyone? Does it conjure up an image of students being reprimanded— well
the image may still be prevailing but the role has changed and demands the change
accordingly :
With our schools having to reinvent themselves owing to government
regulations and societal expectations, the nature of the Principal or Headmaster has
undergone a redefinition. Today’s school head is likely to be more computer-savvy,
student-friendly and yes, perhaps less forbidding than we imagine him/her to be. In
addition, his/her concern is likely to be far more than the ‘syllabus’ of yore.
The current buzzwords are 21st century skills, learning outcomes, Vocational
education “all-round development,” IQ(Intelligence Quotient ),EQ(Emotional
Quotient),SQ(Social Quotient )and CQ(Cultural Quotient), “Teacher training ”,
Experiential learning, “aesthetic , art based and technology-assisted learning”.
In this backdrop our Principals and Headmasters are today expected to perform a
wide-range of academic and non-academic duties and hence the role does not merely revolve around completing ‘syllabus’, goading teachers to produce ‘excellent’
results and then basking in the glory once the board or DIET results are announced.
School leaders are today expected to perform a wide-range of academic and
non-academic duties and hence the job does not merely revolve around completing
‘syllabus’, goading teachers to produce ‘excellent’ results and then basking in the
glory once the board results are announced. In the academic sphere the role of our
respected school heads can be said to be in the area of curriculum planning and
development ,academic resource management, areas pertaining to student
development and teacher training.
The term curriculum is being increasingly preferred to ‘syllabus’. To put it simply,
‘curriculum’ refers to teaching, learning, and assessment materials available for a
given course of study and it is far broader than the term ‘syllabus’ which was merely
a lesson completion plan. Curriculum requires far more detailing in terms of subject
matter, teaching methodologies, assessment techniques and it is really the divine
responsibility of our school heads to lead and manage the whole curriculum process.
But it is not as if the old requirements of students having to crack exams and leave
schools with ‘good results’ has disappeared. The old continues to co-exist with the
new.
Ensuring all-round student development through a variety of curricular and extracurricular activities is another important area of work. The old bookworm with great
marks, but no social skills(SQ) is a no-no everywhere, and so developing student
communication skills and attuning the student to the social and environmental
realities of the day through a variety of methods in addition to classroom work is yet
another area that requires the attention of our school heads. On any given day, the
school principal is definitely likely to be making some decisions regarding
curriculum and so meeting teachers and academic co-ordinators is likely to figure on
the top of his to-do list. Then a significant part of his day is likely to be devoted to
administrative matters relating to finance, infrastructure and the like. Dealing with
parents and other visitors is another very important part of the principal’s schedule.
And of course, the day is incomplete without the principal dealing with students.
In the non-academic sphere, the school leader’s duties revolve around compliance —
affiliation and recognition — with the NEP and RTE making this mandatory,
property management in terms of school facilities and infrastructure (fire safety,
building safety, water, food, transport,library , laboratory benches writing
material,parks, herbal gardens, decorated classrooms etc.) and counselling of and interaction with parents and children to strengthen the academic triangle.Another
aspect which has assumed the greater importance is the greater degree of interaction
with the local community ( Numberdars , Sarpanchs, DDC Members, SMDC
Members etc)especially with schools that demand the communal involvement for
uplifting school infrastructure.
In addition, school leaders increasingly have to do human resource management,
financial management and strategic planning as well. It is the job of the school head
to harness the talent of educators and non teaching faculty as well as receive feedback
from them with the vision of inclusive growth of the institution . In addition, as
desired by NEP-2020 and demanded by the current scenario the school heads must
take guidance and counselling session from professionals including nutritionists to
provide imbibe the value of mind and health among educators and students and more
importantly and in first instance our respected school heads must be aware of their
roles and importance in the school set-up.
The idea of putting all my ideas on paper is actually nourished by one of my
favourite school Principals, whom I deem as an embodiment of all the above
mentioned qualities and whose vision , management and inclusive approach has
changed HSS NARAPORA into the dream school of every student where I feel
proud to be a teacher and the student feels secure of his future , character and human
values.I am highly thankful to you, Mr. Javid Ahmad Khan (My School head) for
igniting a literary spark in me to write this article which otherwise needs sky bound
courage.
