By Isaac Arkoh
Cape Coast, May 08, GNA — A University Don has advocated for a comprehensive national leadership policy to empower pre-tertiary teachers to assume positions as school heads.
The Professor with the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) lamented the flawed process used in selecting school heads, where appointments often prioritise years of teaching experience over demonstrated leadership qualities such as strategic vision, pedagogical expertise, emotional intelligence, and instructional skills.
Prof Rosemary Seiwah Bosu, Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), made the call while delivering her inaugural lecture titled, “Empowering Education Leaders: The Missing Ingredient in Ghana’s Education System,” at UCC on Thursday evening.
She stated that formal preparation for leadership positions, certification pathways, structured mentorship, and coherent national leadership standards remained limited and ineffective.
In her lecture, Prof Bosu examined Ghana’s education policies, contemporary literature on quality education, and findings from her own research to analyse challenges in school leadership at the pre-tertiary level in Ghana.
Her presentation focused on four key pillars of educational leadership: visionary leadership, pedagogy, evidence-driven practices, and structural leadership dilemmas.
She observed that the current situation had left many school heads inadequately empowered to transition from administrative compliance to transformative leadership capable of supporting effective teaching and learning.
According to her, addressing these challenges was essential to bridge persistent gaps in Ghana’s pre-tertiary education leadership system, which she said had been worsened by inadequate training, the absence of standardised benchmarks, and over-reliance on ad hoc management practices.
Prof Bosu questioned why, despite numerous major educational reforms introduced in Ghana since 1951, leadership development in pre-tertiary education had largely remained implicit, fragmented across policies, and focused mainly on administration.
She noted that research findings showed school heads recognised the importance of leadership competencies, social justice, contemporary skills, and data utilisation, yet many felt disempowered because of resource constraints, unclear mandates, and limited opportunities for capacity building.
Outlining key lessons from her assessment of the pre-tertiary sector, Prof Bosu stressed the need for greater autonomy in educational management.
“Accountability without autonomy stifles empowerment and initiative,” she stated.
She expressed concern that despite formal policies promoting decentralisation of pre-tertiary school administration to improve efficiency and responsiveness at the local level, the reality remained one of rigid top-down centralisation.
According to her, the situation had resulted in inefficiencies, weak local autonomy, and poor accountability, reinforcing longstanding criticisms of public school administration in Ghana.
Drawing on her research and field experience, Prof Bosu argued that the professional development of school management personnel must extend beyond teaching practices to include leadership skills such as vision-setting, collaboration, data utilisation, and technology integration.
She further proposed the adoption of African indigenous educational principles — including community orientation, holistic development, mentorship, and learning-by-doing — as culturally grounded foundations for collective leadership.
Prof Denis Aheto, Acting Vice-Chancellor of UCC, who chaired the ceremony, reaffirmed the university’s commitment to quality education. He linked this commitment to UCC’s recent performance in the Times Higher Education rankings, where the university maintained its position among Africa’s top institutions for teaching excellence and research impact.
He explained that an inaugural lecture represented a defining milestone in academic life and commended Prof Bosu for her remarkable academic journey.
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1964, Prof Bosu began her primary education in 1971 at St. Theresa’s Preparatory School at Kaneshie in Accra. Her professional career started at UCC’s Department of Science Education in 1992, where she worked as a Senior Technician Graphic Designer before rising to the position of Principal Technician in 1996.
Over the years, she progressed through various academic and administrative ranks and departments, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2010, Associate Professor in 2016, and Professor in 2021. She has authored 30 books.
Prof Bosu is married with three children and is a Christian.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey /Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Isaac Arkoh
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