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Media Release

12 September, 2006

WCED, UK partners developing school business management concept

The concept of a School Business Manager as a dedicated individual who is able to manage human resources, budget, infrastructure and provisioning issues at school can bring greater efficiency in the running of the school, and can add massive value to a school community and enhance learning.

So said Western Cape Education MEC Cameron Dugmore during a keynote address this morning to a forum of school secretaries and administrators. Leading members of the National College for School Leadership, the Institute for Administrative Management and the Manchester Metropolitan University - all from London - are visiting the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to assist with the development of courses for School Business Managers.

In November last year, MEC Dugmore visited London as a guest of the above institutions, and said he witnessed "a real sense of the positive impact the concept of School Business Management (SBM) had on the confidence of those who participated in the various courses and programmes."

School principals in South Africa, in the UK and all over the world, face a myriad of complex challenges, said MEC Dugmore. "Not only do our principals have to ensure the effective delivery of the curriculum in the classroom, but they also have to look after the social well-being of children, and at the same time ensure that every teacher has his basic needs. In essence our principals are managing large, complex and challenging institutions."

From the experiences that head teachers (schools principals) in the UK related to him, it is clear that school business managers had been a fantastic investment for education in that country. "It has transferred skills in a real way, giving new opportunities and confidence to thousands of administrators and school secretaries, whose value is not often recognized and appreciated," said MEC Dugmore.

He said the role of the school managers in the UK has allowed the principal to concentrate on his core function, which is the delivery of the curriculum and enhancing academic performance. "The school business managers we met in the schools we visited, spoke of a new lease on life, a new confidence and a passion for making a real difference in their schools."

The WCED is developing a certificate course in School Business Management, which will take about a year to finalise. The content will consist of: Financial Management; Human Resource Management; Risk Management; Facilities Management; and General and Office Administration.

The final course specifications/qualification will have to be registered with SAQA and ratification by the appropriate Standards Generating Body (SGB). Therefor, the roll-out of the certificate course will probably be as from January 2008.

Said MEC Dugmore: "To enable all staff at schools to qualify for entry into the certificate course, which has an entry level of grade 12, current employees will be assessed according to their qualifications and prior learning experience.

"Those who do not possess the necessary qualifications and experience will have to attend a bridging course to provide them entry into the certificate course. The bridging course is intended to upskill targeted persons and/or reskill targeted persons. The course will consist of short courses and skills programmes according to the outcomes of the screening process.

"It is the intention of the WCED to start with the bridging course in mid-2007 and a total of 200 staff members will be selected through a screening process," said MEC Dugmore.

SEE FULL SPEECH ON  www.capegateway.gov.za/education.


Issued by:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Secretary
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
E-mail: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689

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