96 Aspiring Principals Trained

Ninety-six aspiring school leaders have been equipped to assume roles in the nation’s schools, having successfully completed the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) Aspiring Principals’ Programme.

The graduates, who form Cohort 7, were awarded the Professional Qualification for Principalship, during a virtual presentation ceremony on March 31.

Minister of Education and Youth, the Hon. Fayval Williams, who delivered the keynote address, commended the participants for completing the year-long programme, noting that they have “showed commitment and perseverance,” amid the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“You are living testimonies of the passion, courage and grit required in school leadership,” she said.

“With the many changes taking place in society… we need to be aware of new trends and modalities and adapt accordingly. This, then, is not training as an end but rather to equip you to be better and more effective in your work,” she said further.

Minister Williams noted that the aim of the programme is to provide aspiring school leaders with the “competencies, perspectives and emotional intelligence,” needed to be effective when they assume leadership.

The candidates were exposed to four critical leadership modules, five professional development courses and a 12-week field experience.

For her part, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Maureen Dwyer, noted that “professionally developed programmes are critical [for] continued improvements in school administration”.

“In this context, I want to assure you that we will give you support and help you to the best of our abilities,” she disclosed.

Meanwhile, Vice Principal of Black River High School in St. Elizabeth, Andria Strong Moses, said: “The NCEL team not only inspired us throughout the programme but they also served as a benchmark as to what this whole journey for leadership should look like.”

Since the NCEL’s conception in 2011, more than 500 educators have completed the training.

The programme is being facilitated through partnership with the Mona School of Business at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and the Ministry of Education and Youth.

This year’s graduation theme was ‘Beyond Resilient Leadership: Building Organisational Agility’.