School leaders urged to enhance skills

School leaders urged to enhance skills

Official launching: Hjh Aishah Hj Muhd Husain (L), director of Schools Department officially opens the seminar for private school administrators, yesterday.Picture: Courtesy of MoE
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, July 6, 2008

SCHOOL leaders must be prepared to accept changes, adapt and upgrade their knowledge and skills to ensure that schools perform well in order to produce knowledgeable human resources, said the director of the Ministry of Education's Schools Department.

"It is the duty of schools leaders and administrators to be efficient, creative and professional in accepting changes positively in all areas, including academic, co-curriculum, and sports," said Hjh Aishah Hj Muhd Husain yesterday.

During the opening of the seminar for school administrators of private schools, she said that research have shown that school administrators are the key in bringing positive changes and success towards a school's achievement and students' performance.

"For any educational institution to do well and be effective, it is very crucial for everyone concerned to be committed and play their part," she said during the seminar at the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Primary School.

"This is a big challenge for the school administrators in ensuring that the quality, variety and continuity in the education system is based on the Malay Islamic Monarchy concept," she added.

She also urged the administrators to keep abreast with current affairs and issues, including the new education system (SPN21) which will be introduced in stages from 2009 onwards. The director noted that the number of private schools in Brunei has increased, resulting in the rise of quality education and providing more opportunities for basic education in the country.

As of May 2008, there are more than 31,000 students in private schools, with 87 private schools currently registered with the Ministry of Education compared to 23 schools in the 1990s, she said.

Hjh Aishah said that the seminar is one of the ministry's initiatives to achieve its five-year strategic plan, including the Education Order 2003 and Compulsory Education Order 2007.

The one-day seminar for administrators in private schools serves to highlight the status of the current developments and expectations placed on the Education Ministry, the director said.

Hj Mohammed Jambul, chairperson of the seminar's organising committee and acting assistant director at Private Education Section at Ministry of Education, hoped that the seminar would act as a capacity building tool for the participants and enable networking among the schools.

The seminar was divided into four sessions. Four presenters were on hand to deliver different topics with regards to private schools administration, including Hjh Donnaliza Abdullah Puasa, the acting director of Schools Inspectorate who talked on school improvement through school self evaluation and external inspection.

Other topics include instructional leadership, expectations on the ministry's policies and counselling in administration.

A 28-year-old female who wished to remain anonymous, said that the seminar gave her ideas on how to improve her work and the school's standard and education quality.

Another participant, who would like to be known simply as Rina from DES school, said the seminar helps her to prepare for administrative work as she has recently been transferred to administration from teaching. (RSH1)

The Brunei Times