Why the underlying silent leadership feud in junior schools is a timed bomb

It has become increasingly difficult for head teachers and Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers to read from the same page.

Most teachers have outlined that some headmasters lack interest and knowledge about what is offered at Junior School stating that they lack the confidence to approach teachers and students.

Other junior school teachers stated that virtually all of them are completely excluded from the systems that make very pertinent decisions on behalf of Junior school since, they are not part of the administrators, and therefore appealed to the Teachers Service Commission and the Ministry of Education to consider integrating the Junior School teachers into the systems that make decisions especially on behalf them’

According to JS teachers interviewed by the Education News, most headmasters are disrespectfully treating them with imagination that they are so youthful and have little or nothing to contribute towards the success of the school. This in turn occasions confusion and rage among them.

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Some junior school teachers have also doubted how some of their headmasters secured the positions imagining that dubious means must have been used because some of them lack competence to resolve very basic emerging issues soberly.

“There are moments in our staffrooms when there are heated discussions over minor issues. Some of the heads have proved unfit to sustain healthy discussions and arguments and have ended up going personal, resorting to force and violence,” said one of the JS teacher.

Teachers have lately castigated situations where irate and uncompromising headmasters humiliate and even abuse them before their students and even before fellow staff members. They stated that at this point in time they need head teachers but not headmasters.

A few male and female teachers in the event of anonymity stated that some heads both male and female demand for sexual favors from JSS teachers. “As we reject them, they make life so hard for us in their schools,” said the teacher.

It has come to our realization that junior school teachers who come from well-to- do families or are well connected to eminent personalities are greatly respected and feared by the headmasters, but ordinary folk are looked down on.

Junior school teachers perceive lack of recognition for their qualifications and experience, discrimination, disrespect really demeaning to them and are demanding an immediate change.

Teachers have further stated that headmasters especially those with very limited experience in Junior Secondary School education do struggle to understand and address unique needs of students and teachers and end up doing them haphazardly.

“Most of the heads fail to fully grasp the complexities associated with the junior school curriculum’s teaching approaches which eventually leads to misunderstandings and even conflict,” a JS teacher said.

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He also added that there is normally an overlap of resource allocation contrary to the government’s plan on junior school. These teachers have claimed that only a few of the resources designated to Junior school are utilized in junior school, most of these resources are directed to primary school.

They have observed that there’s poor communication and lack of trust between the heads and the school boards leading to a feeling that most of the junior school concerns are blatantly ignored.

Instances have been witnessed when heads micro-manage school boards making them completely toothless and unable to take any independent decision. Some board members are even working under fear.

One other very key issue that was outlined by the teachers is that there is lack of oversight and accountability in school management particularly in the use of school funds and stated that there’s lack of transparency in school financial decisions.

The Junior Secondary School teachers have called for the input of the Teachers Service Commission to address issues like intimidation and discrimination.

It’s therefore unfortunate to imagine that Junior Secondary School Teachers are inherently difficult and are precisely out to cause mayhem in our schools.

It’s indeed time that the management structures beginning from Early Childhood Education all the way through primary and Junior Secondary were given to people who are well trained in that area to administer resources on behalf of their learners through quasi-independent representatives.

Schools should therefore have a deputy principal in ECDE, deputy in primary and deputy in junior school who should also be deputy signatories to the bank accounts that fall under their area of jurisdiction according to the presidential working party on reforms.

By Our reporter