School Directors Gain Key Management Skills

Photo: Secondary Education Activity

School Management Manual Trainings enhance the financial management skills of both primary and secondary school directors
“There are many benefits from these trainings. One of the benefits is that school directors learned what they don’t know and also where to find the information they need to know for managing the money allocated to their school,” says Ms. Janevska Petkoska.

Challenge

The shift towards decentralization also requires a shift in the role of the school directors. In the centralized system the role of the director was mostly focused on the realization of the curriculum and the extracurricular activities. Directors had a minimal role in managing finances which limited their ability to manage.  In a decentralized system the school director takes on a managerial role, he/she manages all activities for the realization of the educational process in the school including both aspects – educational and financial.

Initiative

USAID in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science organized the School Management Manual trainings to help the school directors and their managing teams become more effective and more successful in their everyday work.

Finances, with the focus on the financial aspects of the educational process, school financial plans and capital investments in the schools, were one of the three major training topics covered during a three-day training seminar. The trainings on Finances were delivered by two experts from the Ministry of Education and Science, Ms. Sonja Janevska Petkoska and Ms. Frosina Raleva Stojcevska.

“This is the first time I deliver trainings in the area of education. The trainings helped me find out about the school directors proficiency with the financial aspects of their work and their familiarity with their role as financial managers of the education process”, says Ms. Sonja Janevska Petkoska.

Through the School Management Trainings many professional development opportunities were opened up for the school directors on their road to effective school management.