Absent heads provoke row

10th July 1998, 1:00am

Share

Absent heads provoke row

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/absent-heads-provoke-row
Malaysia

A public outcry has followed the revelation that two-thirds of principals are rarely in school.

According to a survey by the National Union of the Teaching Profession, principals are too busy attending meetings called by the education department and district education offices.

N Siva Subramaniam, the union’s secretary general, is sceptical about the usefulness of many of the meetings. “We believe that it is unnecessary for heads and principals to attend most of the functions which they have been invited to,” he said. He added that one head had spent 190 days in a year attending meetings.

The survey of 189 primary and 83 secondary heads was conducted earlier this year. The row that followed its publication has driven theeducation ministry to promise to improveco-ordination of its meetings and courses so that principals are away from their schools less frequently.

The survey also revealed that 70 per cent of school heads could not meet the ministry requirement to teach at least six lessons per week. This was deplored by the NUTP, which argued that as a result heads were losing their teaching skills and were out of touch with the classroom.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared