CDM hosts Principal Leadership Summit in city

Capricorn District Municipality (CDM) hosted a well-attended Principal Leadership Summit at Sun Meropa last Friday. The aim of the summit was to allow school principals to share best practices and to find lasting solutions that may improve matric results.
The summit was also attended by MEC for Education, Ishmael Kgetjepe, circuit and district managers and other stakeholders in the education sector. After a panel discussion, delegates joined commissions where topics which included ‘Curriculum management towards producing best results’, ‘Resource management that leads to effective curriculum recovery’, ‘Learner enrichment towards preparation for examinations’ and ‘School performance recovery and turn-around strategy’ were interrogated.

CDM Executive Mayor, John Mpe, welcomed delegates and said that education is a very complex matter that requires a broad set of responses. “Therefore, left alone, it might take the Department of Education longer to overcome all the multifaceted challenges. We therefore convened this summit to help the Department to hear from principals themselves and to create a platform for principals to share good practices and place the district on a pedestal of hope and success,” Mpe explained.
Mpe said that, during visits to some schools at the beginning of the year, a number of challenges were identified. “Some of the schools are held back by leadership issues which affect the efficiency of the school. This generally affects the morale of educators, leads to educators neglecting lessons, and we are told that, this is especially rife on Fridays and month-ends,” Mpe said.
Other challenges detected, included insufficient human and material resources, classroom overcrowding, inadequate support from communities, unprepared school governing body (SGB) members, ill-discipline amongst learners and squabbles and infighting between principals and staff members that leads to camps or factions. “It is clear that these challenges defeat the purpose of outcomes of teaching and learning and no good can come of such an environment,” Mpe reckoned.
“We acknowledge that your responsibilities are indeed huge. Our belief is that you should continue to do your best as our bright future depends on you,” Mpe said to the principals.
During the panel discussion, Tlou Matsapola, Principal of Dendron High School, said the purpose of a school was to make learners pass and pass well. “As a principal you are not here by mistake and your success is determined by the results that your learners produce,” Matsapola said and added that it was important to set targets. He quoted an unknown philosopher, saying: “The greatest tragedy on earth is not death, but life without a purpose”.

Story & photos: BARRY VILJOEN
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