The Aga Khan University

Institute for Educational Development

ED-LINKS PROJECT

Planning for Educational Change

Leadership and Management Development Project for District

Education Officials of Sindh, Balouchistan

Course End Report

28 September, 2010
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Summary

The workshop was part of the ED-Links project framework. A group of 35-38 District
Education Officials (DEOs), hailing from Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, attended this
two-day session in December 2009. The aim of the workshop was to develop the
leadership and management potential of the officials. The objectives of the workshop have
been to help the course participants identify the problem areas in their context, investigate
their different dimensions, and propose certain problem solving measures. A problem
solving matrix has been used to help the participants present their
action points. Two key aspects have emerged from the responses,
namely most enjoyable/ engaging job aspects and least
enjoyable/challenging job aspects. Furthermore, the report contains
certain problem-solving measures proposed by the course participants
for the aforementioned problem areas. A few observances gleaned from
the date have been provided, which has been followed by an end of the
report conclusion.
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Table of Contents

Summary................................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents.................................................................................................... iv
MAIN FINDINGS ...................................................................................................1
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MAIN FINDINGS

WORKSHOP’S DIMENSIONS
The workshop is part of the ED-Links project framework. A group of
35-38 District Education Officials (DEOs), hailing from Sindh and
Baluchistan provinces, attended this two-day session in December
2009 . The course participants possessed a diverse range of
experience that is some of them were new entrants in the field,
having an experience of one year or above; whereas others were
seniors, possessing 15 years of experience or above.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

Aim
The aim of the workshop was to develop the leadership and
management potential of the officials. The workshop was designed
in a way to help the officials plan for and initiate educational change
in their schools by not only articulating the problem areas and
challenging aspects of the job but also positive areas and exploring
the possibilities of resolving them.

Objectives of the Workshop

By going through the program, the course participants were able to:

• Identify those people who are influenced/affected by their

professional decisions

• Identify certain problems/areas needing improvement concerning

the aforementioned people

• Analyze and investigate the problems by breaking them in

manageable chunks

• Recognize their own role in solving any of those problems and

suggest viable solutions
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THE STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The aims and objectives of the workshop were achieved through the
following methodology:

1. Seek background information from the participants (Name;

Professional Experience; Likes and Dislikes in job functions)

2. Recognize their concerns and influences; the circle of professional

influences; problem areas; their role in solving these problems; their
success stories, etc.

3. Use a step-wise problem-solving model to:

a. List Key problems/concerns

b. Select a problem and give rationale/reason/criteria for

selection

c. Analyze/investigate the problem

d. Identify possible list of solutions/alternatives

4. Use an action planning matrix to organize and present their

activities/action steps.

KEY ASPECTS EMERGING FROM THE COURSE PARTICIPANTS’

RESPONSES
The following aspects emerged through the analysis of the course
participants’ responses:
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MOST ENJOYABLE /ENGAGING JOB ASPECTS

The course participants mentioned various aspects of their job as
enjoyable and energizing: some were related to their day-to-day
management and administrative functions, which helped them in
running the schools efficiently; meanwhile other aspects had a
holistic and synergetic dimension, which gave them a sense of
accomplishment and fulfillment.

Management and Organizational Functions

The participant DEOs enjoyed visiting, inspecting, and supervising
schools under their jurisdictions. They also liked to conduct/attend
meetings related to the curriculum or administrative or
organizational aspects of the schools in order to recognize issues and
resolve them successfully. They also found coordinating with the high
officials and policy makers as a positive and beneficial exercise, as it
helped them in understanding and executing government's education
policies. Many of them found the handling of accounts and budget-
related matters of the schools as a positively challenging activity, as
it helped them in mobilizing the available resources in an effective
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way. The DEOs also highlighted the sense of gratification that

came from the timely execution of assignments and tasks that were
assigned to them. School census was also mentioned as a
meaningful and comprehensive exercise which allowed the DEOs to
collect, process, and distribute timely and accurate educational data
required for planning, administration, resource allocation, and
decision-making purposes.

Academic Duties
Many of the DEOs found the task of assisting head teachers and
teachers in creating a learning environment in their schools
invigorating. Several of them enjoyed the rigor involved in
conducting local annual examinations in the schools and gauging the
development, progress and attainment of pupils. Their position gave
them a chance to have direct contact with the students and get
feedback from them regarding the effectiveness of the teaching and
learning process in the schools. Many of the DEOs expressed a keen
interest in organizing sports and other co curricular activities in their
schools.

The Holistic Dimension

Most of the DEOs highlighted a holistic dimension of their work which
yielded them a greater sense of job satisfaction. The opportunity to
interact with different people (students, teachers, and the community
at large) and share ideas and knowledge with them was considered a
positive factor of their job function. Besides mutual learning, the
DEOs get the opportunity to solve the problems of their subordinates,
teachers, and students in an effective manner. Their job function
enables them to help, guide, and facilitate people in the circle of their
influence and make a difference in their lives. They aim at creating
an enabling environment for their teachers and students. A few
considered counseling and character building of students as
meaningful aspects of their job responsibilities. They aim at
developing awareness in students about diverse human values, for
instance, the need for mutual respect. The distribution of free
textbooks among needy students and granting meritorious females
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scholarships have been mentioned as gratifying job responsibilities

by some of the officials.

Staff Development/Training Opportunities

Many of the DEOs cited the capacity building and development of
heads/teachers as liberating aspects in their job profile, as they help
them in improving the teaching and learning processes in schools.
Their unique position helps them in knowing the standards of
education and improving them. Their exposure also helps them in
learning, applying, and imparting pre-tested and innovative
approaches, principles and strategies in classrooms. Furthermore,
attending and organizing training sessions, seminars and refresher
courses enables them to exhibit their own leadership potential and
explore the same in their participant teachers.

LEAST ENJOYABLE /CHALLENGING JOB ASPECTS

Certain job aspects were mentioned by the DEOs as least enjoyable:
Some were pressures and influences external to their schools, while
other pressures and impediments were internal to their schools or
those related to staffing and management issues.
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Outside Influences and Interferences

Almost all the DEOs cited dealing with external pressures as the least
enjoyable aspect of their job. This included coping with interferences
and influences of political, local, and religious factions in their work.
Also, the DEOs often have to bear relentless pressures of the higher
authority and agencies, which often include implementation of unjust
orders that violate merit and lead to unnecessary transfers of
teachers. The influence of teachers’ unions was also mentioned as a
negative factor which undermines the school processes and makes
the DEOs’ job difficult.

Budgetary Constraints and Resource Management Issues

Many of the DEOs reported that dealing with budgetary constraints
and inconsistencies and fabricated data adds to their job challenges.
Sometimes, they have to dole out commissions even on a shoestring
budget, which adds to their resource management woes. The DEOs
also cited the lack of material, monetary and human resources as
major incapacitating factors. These include the lack of amenities like
textbooks, library books, equipments, IT lab, electricity, transport,
accommodation, furniture, etc. The dearth of trained and qualified
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teachers and their frequent transfers was also mentioned as a

challenge to the smooth functioning of schools. The DEOs also felt
that the loss of invaluable time due to redundant and superfluous
processes also contributes to their frustration and boredom. Also, for
school visits, they are required to travel long distances without
proper transport arrangements, which leads to a wastage of their
time and energy. At times, the DEOs are required to rectify a large
number of faulty or budget proposals of schools under their
supervision, which was considered as a redundant and time-
consuming process by them. Similarly, most of the DEOs felt that
lengthy meetings, unnecessary discussions, and delays in the
communication process were exhausting and impacted their work
efficiency in a negative way.

Lack of Community Engagement

Several DEOs felt that the lack of support from the parents, the
community, and different stakeholders added impediments to their
work and made it challenging. When parents and community
members don’t realize the value of education, they don’t see a point
in sending their children to schools.

High Dropout Rate or Truancy

The high dropout rate of the students was identified as a serious
issue by the DEOs. The following reasons were identified behind this
trend: the declining standard of education and outdated curriculum;
schools’ failure to motivate and engage the students; the parents’
lack of interest in their children’s education and their non
cooperation; the trend of corporal punishment in classrooms;
parents’ limited means and their inability to pay tuition fees, provide
school supplies, etc.; language barriers in the classrooms; lack of
transportation; harsh weather conditions; students’ need to work and
supplement their families’ income, etc.

Teacher Absenteeism
Most of the DEOs mentioned the difficulties associated with teacher
absenteeism and their low motivation as aspects that made their own
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job difficult. This practice has resulted in the phenomenon of ‘ghost

schools’ and ‘ghost teachers’ which debilitate the education system.

Staffing and Management Issues

The course participants also mentioned hierarchical issues which add
to the complexity of their jobs. On one hand, the superiors are
unavailable or have a high sense of self-importance. On the other
hand, the non cooperation of the administrative and clerical staff and
lack of team work affect the DEOs’ efficiency and create barriers.
Furthermore, the DEOs identified different aspects of management
duties as tedious and time-consuming, such as, mentoring,
inspection, conducting inquiries, documentation, dealing with
uncompleted service books and other accounts, etc. Some of them
also mentioned frequent late sittings and lack of punctuality of staff
members as energy drains.

CERTAIN PROBLEM-SOLVING MEASURES IDENTIFIED BY THE

DEOS

Creating Meaningful Linkages with the Community

Most of the DEOs stressed the need of meaningful linkages amongst
community members. They felt that parents should be motivated to
give attention to their children and their studies. Similarly, frequent
meetings between parents and the teachers should be arranged to
ensure that both are on the same page regarding the progress of
their children. The DEOs proposed other venues for creating
meaningful community linkages and involvement through organizing
co-curricular activities in schools, such as; organizing Science and
book fairs, educational seminars, sports competition, flower
exhibition, debates, etc. Some of the course participants recognized
the role of the School Management Committee (SMCs) and NGOs in
opening venues of school and community engagement. Most
importantly, the DEOs recognized that mobilizing the community’s
support would help them in resisting and countering political
interferences and pressures. The MPAs’ and MNAs’ help and support
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and their influence in the community can be sought by the DEOs in

securing resources and funding for the schools, such as; school
building, clean drinking water, electricity, computers, furniture, etc.

Reducing Teacher Absenteeism

The DEOs proposed that they should try to win the teachers’
confidence in order to find out the reasons behind their truancy and
try to resolve accordingly i.e., understand whether it is financial
worry or domestic one which is holding them back. Similarly, the
teachers’ capacity should be built through training programs and
workshops, where they can learn about the new teaching
methodologies and feel confident and involved. Likewise, the DEOs
can also monitor the performance of teachers at intervals and guide
them in view of that, so as to motivate and empower the teachers
towards their job functions.

Resource Management
The course participants emphasized the need for human and material
resource management through delegation of tasks and distribution of
power. They also pointed out that teachers should be deputed and
transferred according to students’ enrollment ratio, subject needs,
and in consultation with parents and the community members.
Similarly, the other school staff should also be deployed in
accordance with the need and not on the basis of favoritism. Also,
teachers and staff members should be ideally posted near their
residences, so that they are able to save invaluable time and energy
while travelling, and logistical issues related to transport and
accommodation are reduced. Similarly, resources can be managed in
an efficient way through gleaning data authentically and accurately
and proper budget allocations should be made. Hence, the
headteachers and staff members should be properly trained for this
purpose, and bills, payroll and performas can be randomly checked
by the DEOs for inconsistencies.

Keeping the Higher Ups in the Loop

Many of the EDOs emphasized their own role in providing accurate
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and timely feedback to the higher ups (ADEOs, etc.,) and policy
makers about the problems encountered in the schools. They felt
that through keeping the communication channels open, many issues
can be addressed and viable solutions can be sought. This way
respective policies, programs, and projects can be interpreted,
prioritized, implemented, monitored, supervised and evaluated in an
efficient and comprehensive manner. Similarly, regular visits and
monitoring and reporting at regular intervals can help in smooth
running of the system. A few course participants aptly remarked that
there is a need to move from government to governance in their
working.

A FEW OBSERVANCES
Certain common observances have been made from the course
participants’ responses, they are:

• There were numerous repetitions in the course participants’

responses, which exhibit clarity of thought or articulation
problems.

• Many of the factors and aspects were interlinked but were

stated separately by the officials, for instance, the connection
among dropout rate and lack of community involvement and
interference of outside influences. One possible reason behind this
could be the inability of the course participants to create logical
linkages.

• Some of the participants had copied responses from one

another verbatim, whereas a few others had opted not to respond
to certain questions. This may exhibit a lack of originality of
thought, or the tasks’ perceived dexterity and the participants’
confusion.

• A majority of the course participants were able to identify

pressing problems and issues in their context. But more
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importantly, they were able to analyze and investigate these

problems and recognize their own role in solving them and thus
initiating a change in their contexts.

• Recalling their success stories or most enjoyable job aspects

generated a positive feeling. The course participants’ responses
were personalized, unique, and enthusiastic.

CONCLUSION
The initiation of change in modern day learning communities is as
challenging a task as ever. One underlying principle behind the
workshop ‘Planning for Educational Change’ was Thoreau’s
philosophy that things do not change; we change. Thus, the
facilitators aimed to not only to make the course participants
articulate their contextual problems but also recognize their own
circle of influence and awaken them to their own problem-solving
potential and abilities. As a result of the workshop, the course
participants were not only able to identify problems and issues in
their context, but they were also able to analyze and investigate
these problems and recognize their own role in solving them, and
thus initiating a process of change in their own contexts.
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