adminNhamo Muchagumisa
AS I was reading an old issue of The Manica Post, I stumbled upon an article titled “School Heads, Endangered Species?”. The author decries the conspiracy against school heads which often leads to unjustifiable removals and transfers by “relevant” authorities.
School heads running boarding schools enjoy certain privileges which heads running rural day secondary schools may only dream of. These heads, however, easily fall victim to manipulation by responsible and/or relevant authorities.
Primarily these school heads are civil servants who should serve the interests of the nation as a whole. These heads, however, find themselves facing the unenviable task of serving two masters; the parent ministry and the responsible authority and the latter being much harder to please.
Responsible authorities have endowed themselves with the powers to promote, demote and evict school heads by virtue of owning the schools.
It is my strong conviction that the Public Service Commission and/or the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should devise policies that protect school heads from being unjustifiably victimised by responsible authorities.
Responsible authorities have got their own policies and constitutions, but there is no reason why a school head whose conduct does not break public service regulations should fall victim to the machinations of some vile elements pretending to act for the common good of the public.
If it is the responsible authority’s policy that school heads must rotate, so let this be done within the parameters of the responsible authority’s constitution, not as a manipulative gimmick to make someone suffer. There is also a universal anomaly that compromises the authority of the school heads. The post of school head also deserves recognition in terms of remuneration.
The current situation in which the school head earns only a few dollars more than a certified graduate senior teacher is a mockery to the office of school head. School heads are often victims of ridicule from their subordinates because of this sad scenario.
When one is promoted to the post of school head, it is mere horizontal mobility, not vertical mobility. This may partly explain the prevalent conflict between heads and subordinates.
The subordinate who takes the head as an equal may adopt a defiant demeanour against the head. Sometimes when a subordinate errs, the head may suspect it is a deliberate act to show the head that he/she is merely an equal, and yet it might not be the case.
Those who are concerned about the welfare of school heads should also ask why a school head should keep an acting post for a decade or more. A decade of insecurity, yet the prolonged service indicates ability; otherwise the acting head should have been demoted for one offence or the other, for example, mishandling examinations. Finally, the head’s post is advertised and the acting head also applies and may not be fortunate to get a substantive appointment. Then someone comes to sit on him/her and the 10-year acting head is reduced to a mere classroom practitioner or to the post of deputy head at a school he/she has headed for a decade.
Nhamo Muchagumisa writes in his own capacity and specialises in English Language, Literature in English, Religious Studies and History. He can be reached on his mobile 0777 460 162.
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