By Agbaxode Emmanuel
Akatsi (V//R), Aug. 02, GNA – The Akatsi South Municipal Education Directorate has embarked on a two-day capacity-building for all basic school heads and their assistants within the Municipality.
The training, being held at Akatsi, is aimed at reminding school heads of their position as ‘instructional leaders’ to improve their academic services, adapt and adopt global best practices in school leadership, inculcate value systems in staff and students through school governance, as well as establishing the quest for excellence in student learning.
Reverend Dr Kofi Ashiboe-Mensah, Quality Assurance Officer from the Ho Technical University and a special guest, said among other things that instructional leaders must engage in a wide range of activities connected to student learning, confront issues of equity that impede student learning, recognise and respond to diverse cultural and learning needs of students, making decisions that would affect student success, and ethical practice for improvement.
He said the adoption of Best Management Practices had consistently shown results superior to those that had been earlier on achieved with other means, used as benchmarks, and acceptable by stakeholders such as the Ghana Education Service (GES), NTC, NCS, NaSIA, students, and others.
Rev. Ashiboe-Mensah, who is also the Director of Examination Ethics at Marshals International, Ghana, exposed participants to several best management principles such as, student focus, involvement of staff in programmes, process approach, and leadership, where he said leaders must establish unity of purpose for direction by creating and maintaining a conducive environment in which staff and students become fully involved to achieve the school’s vision and mission.
He said the measurement tools needed to achieve best management practices in education include benchmarking, forecasting, strategic planning, curriculum planning, and performance monitoring and supervision.
Rev. Ashiboe-Mensah who spoke on “Instructional Leadership and Governance”, indicated that leaders must manage available resources rightly in guiding the team to the right destination, in a smooth, effective, and efficient manner.
On educational governance, he said the explicit purpose of governance was to maximise accountability for quality improvement in service provision and student care which is achieved through a framework approach comprising standards, reporting structures, and others.
Mr Karim Ayaana Umar, the Akatsi South Municipal Director of Education, who opened the workshop, disclosed that the event was the maiden edition under his regime, adding, “this would promote creativity, and innovation, and also encourage school heads to adapt to new initiatives in the educational system.”
He told the GNA that over 220 participants including officials from the Akatsi Education Directorate and circuit supervisors were taking part in the training.
Some participants who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the training would increase teacher’s professional development agenda as well as introduce teachers to the use of technology in teaching and learning.
GNA