Meeting the Challenges of Supervision in Basic Schools

Education in public basic schools has, in recent years, come under increased criticism, chief among them being the perceived poor supervision in schools by school heads, and its related poor academic performance of pupils.  

While one cannot deny that supervision in basic schools is fraught with several lapses, it is also worth-noting that there is an aspect of basic school supervision that seems to be overlooked. 

It is the lack of authority on the part of the school heads to deal promptly with some cases that occur in the day-to-day management of their schools.  

In the discharge of duty, the headmaster is guided by rules and regulations stipulated by the Ghana Education Service in respect of action that may be taken by the head against teachers whose work and conduct are inconsistent with their roles as key stakeholders in the education delivery system. 

These rules and regulations tend to restrict the head, thus limiting his ability to take disciplinary action against offending teachers without reference to a higher authority, notably the local education office. 

In the same vein the local education authority has limited authority to act independently of the regional education administrative body.  In such circumstances, one could say that, in spite of the merits of a harmonious functioning of the various units and departments of the Ghana Education Service in the management of schools, basic school heads are shackled when it comes to dealing immediately with irresponsible behaviour of some teachers. 

They are unable to discipline teachers who come to school drunk or disregard the head’s authority. Heads are also challenged with persistent teacher under-performance in terms of the quantum of class exercises given to pupils. 

Besides, financial improprieties indulged in by a teacher, or a teacher’s illicit sexual relationships with female pupils, are other issues, school heads may be confronted with.  Most often, the commonest action taken against such teachers is to transfer them to other schools. But does this really deter or reform the teacher concerned? 

The result is that he or she continues to exhibit the same behaviour at the new postings, thereby negating the effect of the transfer.  In contrast, private school heads or proprietors, undoubtedly, exert apparently unlimited authority in the management of their schools. They could sanction any teacher whose under-performance is likely to affect pupil performance. 

Also, action could easily and promptly be taken against any teacher who indulges in any unethical behaviours that tell negatively on the reputation of the school. They could also penalize someone who might have caused some loss of one kind or another, to the school. 

These are but a few of what the private school head could do without seeking authority from elsewhere.  Simply stated, it is the largely unrestricted authority wielded by private schools in the management of their schools that makes an essential difference between their performance and that of public basic schools.  

Indeed, the use of transfer as a punitive measure is not an effectual means of dealing with teacher indiscipline. For improvement in the performance of headmasters in public basic schools, the heads need to be given definite and clearly stated areas of authority that would enable them to deal with the several actions and inactions of people who work under them. This is a sure way of making the school head effective, improving teacher and pupil performance, and facilitating the supervision of basic schools by local education authorities. 


BY  YAKUBU AKAJABU  (CIRCUIT SUPERVISOR, MUNICIPAL EDUCATION OFFICE, BEREKUM)