Principals management programme rolled out in EC

The PMDP schools average improvement results continued to exceed both KZN and national improvements. Improvements in the PMDP participating schools over the duration of the programme in KZN currently stands at 39.4%, exceeding the KZN improvement of 15% by a total of 23%, as well as exceeding national levels by 28.1% over the same period. In addition to this, where schools have consistently applied the management practices of the PMDP, there appears to be distinct improvement in the very manner in which these schools are being run.

PDMP is for the first time being delivered to 150 of the Eastern Cape's more than 5000 schools. The pass rate of the participating schools was particularly low in 2011 and 2012, and includes schools in the Butterworth, Fort Beaufort and Libode areas. From each school, two heads of department are also now being exposed to school management skills training. According to Dayalan Govender, part of the PMDP design and delivery team: "This is a further improvement on the PDMP, which is aimed at ensuring that the management practices of the programme become embedded in the very culture and operations of the schools."

Practical learning and mentorship

In 2013, 600 school principals and their management teams, as well as 60 circuit managers, will go through the PMDP in both KZN and the Eastern Cape, with a proposed national roll-out in the near future. Taking place over six months, PMDP consists of practical learning and mentorship as well as hands-on tasks to implement systems into the management of the school.

Based on corporate sector development training of basic management competencies, the PMDP is designed and delivered by a public-private model consisting of a consortium of private sector consultancy companies. The consortium (consisting of PwC, Performance Solutions Africa and the University of KZN) are also working very closely with the new national initiative now commonly referred to as the Programme for Improved Learner Outcomes (PILO) which comprises over 60 educational organisations that have come together to work in partnership with the Department of Education to help improve performance at the school level.

"We are very pleased to have been able to contribute to the development of the programme for the PILO and to be part of a wider initiative, which brings together such a strong array of capability in the education space. The PILO has also helped to shape aspects of the development of the PMDP and going forward we envisage an ongoing close relationship with this community," said Barbara Njapha, project manager of PMDP.

"Apart from implementation of the PMDP, the consortium is also very focused on researching which school management practices have the biggest impact on school results. Two years ago, we identified seven key practices that have a statistical correlation to a 7.5% improvement in performance at Grade 12 level," said Njapha.

The PMDP team has recently identified new practices, many of which relate to curriculum coverage, and is focused on assessing the impact of these on school performance. She further added: "Our expectation is that there will be an even more significant impact on school performance through the implementation of these practices, which now also involve the heads of departments directly."

PMDP's success is measured in year-on-year above average increases in pass rates compared to national averages, as well as consistent curriculum tracking and overall school management and governance structures building the school's capacity. The motivated principals, HODs and management teams, with their new skills and structured approaches, have also had far-reaching impact for individual learners and wider communities.