Achieving access to quality education is an important element in efforts to foster stability and development in Afghanistan. School principals play a key role in recruiting and managing teachers, and in shaping the learning environment in schools. Continuing education of principals will help them learn how to administer schools effectively and offer appropriate support for teachers’ professional development.
USAID/BESST
School Management trainers engaged in small group activity to prepare to deliver in-service training to more than 6,000 principals.
USAID’s Building Education Support Systems for Teachers (BESST) project collaborated with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to design in-service training for school principals and head teachers. The first round of training took place in 2008 for more than 3,000 principals across 11 provinces of Afghanistan. Since then, principals have voiced a desire for further in-service training.
In response to this demand, USAID/BESST and the Teacher Education Department of the MoE recently completed the curricula for the second round of. School Manager Training in another 11 provinces Beginning in January 2011, the trainers will conduct eight-day school manager workshops for more than 6,000 school principals, head teachers, and community members in those provinces The MoE plans to gradually expand the school manager training to all provinces.
“In the past we understood a school principal to be someone who sits behind a desk and gives orders. Now we know that we as principals should be active in order to lead the school staff properly. We should have consultations with our team and we should continuously monitor and evaluate their activities. Before, I did not know about active administration, teamwork, and time management. Now I think I have all the capabilities to train and mentor other principals with the proficiencies and skills I have learned from BESST,” – says a school principal from Ghazni.