LEGAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE IQMS
4.13 Challenges to the EFA Millennium Development Goals
4.13.4 Education Support Systems
Performance management specifically at the level of the school relies on effective systems and procedures to support education at that level. Effective systems are presently not in place in most schools in SSA countries. There is a perception in these countries that school management systems are outdated, not allowing various stakeholders a say in the policies formulated to improve curriculum delivery. Because of this factor, educators lack a sense of ownership, and are reluctant therefore to experiment with ways to improve their own performance. Labour Relation mechanisms in dealing with disputes and grievances are also problematic.
As has been previously stated, high staff turnover, particularly at the school principal/head teacher level has meant that these relatively senior positions have not been filled with competent applicants for
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a long period of time. The acting incumbents are often reluctant to introduce changes or make important decisions because of the temporary nature of their position – a lack of action which produces a situation of ineffectiveness and paralysis in the school environment.
Accountability and successful leadership strategies are inherent to the improvement of education systems. According to the previously mentioned report by the EFA Global Monitoring Report, teachers in SSA countries, often feel that the management system is ineffective and that they are not being well managed. An interesting observation has been made where the evaluation of professional conduct of the head teacher by staff members is generally more positively oriented than the level of support received by the schooling system as a whole.
The report indicated that within the current system, leadership in the form of a highly motivated, professional head teacher is extremely important at school level
4.13.4.1 Teacher Management
Performance management within a system is critical. The poor utilisation of human capital and their management is likely to seriously impact on the motivation level of any staff member. Specific to the education system, the management of teachers is important both at national and other levels. The UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report (2006) found that management of teachers was nothing short of chaotic in many countries. Further findings in the report revealed that teacher control is frequently non existent particularly in countries such as India where head teachers do not exercise administrational management over the educators teaching in their establishments. This is a situation which could be equally applicable to most Sub-Saharan African schools.
An important finding of the study was that a focussed management system such as performance evaluation and appraisal was often lacking and that outside support in the form of inspections was minimal especially in the more remotely situated schools in rural areas.
Within SSA countries, there is also the perception that any teacher management system is one which is inflexible and authoritarian, resulting in limited input by all stakeholders and whose sole purpose is to contain self determination and minimise job satisfaction. This in turn affects the morale and motivation of the educators, leading to decline in commitment to their work
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The settling of grievances in an equitable manner amongst educators has also found to be a key issue in their lack of motivation. Often, the lack of capacity in the labour relations field in the education system has lead to many unfair allegations not being resolved. An issue adding to the confusion is that due to the high staff turnover in the more responsible positions, such as head teacher posts, appointed managers are only in this position in an acting capacity – a situation which is bad for teacher morale and disruptive to the smooth functioning of the school system.
4.13.4.2 Management of corruption
In many SSA countries, the scope for corruption and mismanagement is huge due to the lack of serious monitoring systems. These monitoring systems may have been provided for in the policy structure of the governments, but are often not implemented due to a lack of capacity by the managing staff. An example of this is in Ghana where the report stated that “the management of primary schools is especially weak”, and suggested that head teachers were often appointed as a result of the length of service – not because they were capable as managers.
Adding to the lack of capacity is that these head teachers had not been exposed to any form of management training and had therefore no idea how to manage a complex situation such as a school environment successfully. Added to this, the report found that the head teachers were not being given sufficient disciplinary authority – resulting in their staff behaving unprofessionally at school – yet with no serious consequences related to their actions. Circuit managers are also ineffective and inactive – instead of performing an important monitoring and professional support functions, these officials do little else except checking enrolments and staff numbers. (Akyeampong and Asante: 2005).
A study by Adelabu (2005) found that these conditions also existed in Nigeria where educators are not required to supply input into any policy formulation process and that the overall management system is seen to be autocratic and inflexible. His research indicated that teacher morale is affected in this country by the unfair practices effected by those in a supervisory capacity.
Similarly, Ramachandran (2005) also found that this was true within the Indian educational system and stated that “most head teachers appear more concerned about administrative and infrastructure issues than about teacher behaviour and how it impacts on the achievement levels of students”.
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A common feature in school systems in developing countries seems to be the lack of managerial training for those in positions of authority -despite countries such as South Africa and Bangladesh who have provided considerable investment into the improvement of skills amongst the more senior positions. This finding would seem to indicate that managerial skills cannot be taught but are an inherent trait within the individual. The scope of the study cannot elaborate on this concept and requires further pursuit in a separate investigation.
A factor, further hampering the free operation and implementation of a successful education system in developing nations is the interference from various parties in the decision making process at various levels. Devcota (2005) found that this is particularly true in South Asia, where in Nepal, for instance, local politicians insist on being involved in the appointment of head teachers. This situation leads to factionalism and greatly compromises the smooth running of the school. As was previously stated, in South Africa, a highly unionized nation, many appointments are politically motivated and communities, through their Governing Bodies ensure that the correctly affiliated individuals are appointed to these posts, disregarding their managerial skills.
Another instance cited in the research was in Sierra Leone where most schools are owned and managed by religious bodies which are often not equipped with managerial capacity. In these cases, educators are complaining about unfair appointments and transfer practices – and are even in some cases expected to donate part of their salaries as a tithe.