Friday, January 16, 2009

Unit 2 Legal Basis of School Governance

Introduction
As we have seen in Unit 1, the management of schools may be seen on two levels – that which is in the control of the school leadership team and that which is external to the school. Management does not take place in a vacuum or in a random way but rather occurs within the context of laws, regulations, administrative instructions and directives which issue from the Ministry of Education and Government. The constitutional responsibility for educational provision rests with the state and the government, as an agency of the state, has the authority to formulate policies and enact laws concerning education, raise revenues and operate government schools or devolve powers to other agencies or individuals to open and operate private schools. It is these laws enacted by government, expressed in acts, decrees or ordinances, and reflected in various educational bylaws, legislative and executive instruments and other regulations, which constitute the legal basis for school governance.

The various laws and regulations on education, which themselves derive from educational policies formulated by government, are translated into administrative and management instructions, directives and guidelines which determine how schools are managed.

The main purpose of this unit is to assist the school head to understand the sources of authority which determine how the school is to be managed, and through this, to be guided as an educational leader.

Individual study time: 3 hours

Learning outcomes
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

§ explain what an education policy is
§ explain what education laws are, and be aware that such acts, decrees, ordinances and bylaws affect the way you manage your school
§ describe what executive and legislative instruments on education are and how they affect the management and governance of your school
§ describe what administrative instructions are and how they affect the operations of your school
§ explain why your school requires its own policies and regulations, what these are, and what procedures you have for their further development.

Education policies

Activity 2.1
Taking the school curriculum as an example and considering the way in which your school is structured, identify and describe the effect of government policy in this area on the way you have developed your curricular programmes in the school.
Comments
Some of the ways in which school structures and programmes have been determined through government policies include the following:

§ the length of each cycle in the education system: for example, nursery provision in early years, the primary school cycle spans six years and therefore consists of Grades One to Six, while the secondary cycle spans five years and consists of Grades Seven to Eleven (Forms 1 – 5)
§ the selection and content of subjects taught at each level as part of the Guyana National Curriculum
§ specific timetables within nursery and primary schools
§ the minimum qualifications of teachers at each level of the education system
§ the age at which pupils start formal schooling in Nursery Schools

All of these will have an effect on your programmes of study and the curriculum you offer. However, ultimately, you are responsible for what goes on in the classroom and you must be prepared to adapt (where it is permissible) to meet local needs.

Education policy is the overall plan laid down by government embracing general goals and procedures in the provision of education. It is intended to guide and determine present and future decisions connected with schools and pupils, and the roles to be played by parents and other interested bodies. Education policies only become compulsory when included in legislation and enforced through the courts of law.

Education laws
Activity 2.2
In Unit 1, you identified the education acts, decrees or ordinances which determine the way your school is operated.

1) Consider one or two of them (perhaps relating to strategic planning through the SIP, the curriculum or school admissions as examples) and identify what you consider to have been the government objectives in passing such laws.
2) To what extent have these acts or laws been successful in achieving their objectives in the operation of your school?

Comments
For major government educational policies to be implemented, laws in the form of acts or decrees are promulgated to back them. These laws are the rules by which Guyana is governed and which every citizen should respect. (Consider the words of the Guyana National Pledge). It is important to note that such laws, including those on education, do not become static but are amended or changed to suit new circumstances as the country develops.

In some situations, it is possible to find schools which are not operating within the law. For example, some schools have class sizes which are larger than those prescribed by law. It is often quite difficult to provide the national curriculum, particularly in practical subjects in a school with no electricity; or in languages, for example, when there is no teacher available. Another problem is school finance, where the government may set limits on how schools may obtain funding, but where funds have to be raised due to a severe lack of resources.

School heads must know what the law is and they must strive by every means to operate within it. Heads must also be an advocate for the school when resource provision restricts their ability to comply with the law. For example, the head of a school without any electricity next door to a school that has it, must lobby the authorities until the situation is rectified. On the other hand, law makers must understand the realities of educational provision and must pass laws which make sense.

In effect, schools are governed by the legal instruments, known as education acts, which are usually proposed by the Office of the Minister of Education and passed by the Guyana National Assembly. Each education act will build on the strengths of its predecessors and cancel legislation which is no longer necessary. Therefore, in reading the latest education act, one must be au fait with all of its precursors.

It is also important to note that besides major laws in the form of acts or decrees on education which are national in character, there are other subordinate laws, made by town councils and regional democratic councils which affect education in specific areas. These are known as bylaws. These local democratic organisations have wide powers to make bylaws on such matters as education, health care and sanitation. Hence, the Town Councils and RDCs have much influence on educational provision in their areas. It is, therefore, important for you as a school head to know what bylaws on education are in force in the area in which your school is located.

Executive and legislative instruments on education
An executive instrument is a certificate issued by the executive branch of government for a certain order to be carried out in connection with a specific issue. In the field of education, it sometimes becomes necessary to acquire land to construct schools. If this poses a difficulty but land is available, the Ministry of Education can make an order to acquire the portion of land in question. This order is tabled in the National Assembly and, if ratified, the land can then be acquired. Compensation will be paid to the owner.

A legislative instrument is an order issued by the legislature on an aspect of national importance. This order, which has the force of law, regulates activities within a specific domain of national life. A legislative instrument might be issued, for example, to establish decentralised political administration in which regional councils are given certain functions and powers with respect to the provision of education. As you are aware, the Town Councils and RDCs in Guyana are heavily involved in the provision of education, especially in funding certain aspects of it.

Are you aware of any executive or legislative instruments which have influenced the operations of your school or the schools in your district?

Comments
In 2008, the Ministry of Education underwent a process by which further decentralisation of its functions was proposed and agreed. Out of this came proposals for the reorganisation of many of the functions of the MOE, strengthening some areas and delegating some tasks to regional education offices. You will already be aware to what extent your Town Council or RDC is involved in the education process. The area in which changes in legislation are having the greatest influence on schools is in the level of authority being delegated to the PEO (Georgetown) and Regional Education Officers. Decisions, for example, about the opening, location, size and closure of schools are increasingly being made locally.

However, we must be aware that, with the decentralisation process, comes greater accountability both for departments of education and schools. Heads must be aware of their duties in these areas.

Administrative instructions
The two main ministries in Guyana which are involved in education provision are:

§ The Ministry of Education – this is the executive arm of the government for educational affairs. The political head is the Minister of Education, the administrative head is the Permanent Secretary and the professional head is the Chief Education Officer. For further details of their functions, see Module 2, Unit 2 – Government Organisation and Functions.
§ The Ministry of Local Government – this ministry is responsible for the democratic process of the local representation of the people through the RDCs and Town Councils.

However, others will be involved such as the Ministry of Finance in the funding of schools and the Ministry of Health relating to Health and Family Life Education and other health issues such as HIV / Aids, Diabetes education etc. One major function of these government ministries or departments involves the application of general policy to particular areas or activities.

Many administrative functions permit the exercise of discretion by those in positions of authority; hence, powers of policy execution are exercised by a large number of officials, from the officers of the Ministry of Education to heads and classroom teachers, each of whom is given some powers of discretion. Thus, senior officials usually issue administrative instructions to schools in the form of directives or guidelines. These instructions are generally issued through circular letters or at staff meetings at various levels.

Activity 2.3
One of the problems with administrative instructions is keeping an up-to-date file of them and in ensuring that the staff are informed of them. How well are these being kept in your school and how well are your procedures for keeping your staff informed working.

Develop a simple policy for dealing with administrative instructions from different sources. You should consider the following:

§ Reading the communication
§ Analysing the implications for you and your school
§ Filing the communication for easy access when needed
§ Communicating the guidelines / instructions to staff
§ Monitoring their compliance with the instructions.

Comments
You should try to read these directives as soon as they arrive or very soon after. It is a good idea to keep a folder with information for reading and set aside a time each week which is devoted to just that task. You will not need to read everything and often there will be an executive summary at the front which you can skim for its appropriateness for your situation.

You might want to use a pencil to highlight areas which are applicable to you without damaging the document. You may even wish to take notes of the main points and you will need to consider the implications for your school. Implementation of the instructions may require you to discuss the matter first with your senior leadership team to create an action plan and, of course, simply to keep them informed.

Your choices for storage might include a catalogued ring binder classified into date, sender or topic. You may wish to use a filing cabinet with individual files labelled with the topic e.g. Admissions, National Curriculum, Financial Regulations etc. Whichever you choose, it is a good idea to keep a separate list of all communications as they come in with three columns so that you will be able to find them easily. You may wish to give certain staff access to this. See below for an example of how to record communications.

You will only need to communicate to staff those issues which concern them. Teachers do not wish to be burdened with administrative information which does not impact on their role. This is best done through a staff meeting when teachers have an opportunity to ask questions. However, sometimes you may need proof that teachers have been informed, especially if later they will have to change their practice. The staff communications book is the best method for this and, even better, if you have reproduction facilities, give each teacher their own copy. Schools which are fortunate enough to have computers could use email, intranet or, in this technological world, a private blog which can only be read by certain named people. See Unit 6 for instructions in how to monitor performance.

Directives, Instructions and Guidelines

Date -----------Communication----------------------------------Filed In

Nov 2009 ------Guidelines for admissions to secondary schools ------Admissions
Dec 2009 -------National Curriculum – Grade 9 Spanish -------------National Curriculum
Feb 2010 -------Directive on corporal punishment -------------------Pupil behaviour
Mar 2010 -------Use of financial virements --------------------------Finance - votes
May 2010 -------Managing pupil behaviour --------------------------Pupil behaviour

The power to create policy
All officials at different levels within the education sector have the power to form policies and issue directives. However, these are usually only for those persons for whom they have supervisory responsibility. The more senior the official, the greater scope they have for creating policy which will affect the whole system. However, such policy at ministry level is usually a joint effort between different officers with their own distinct responsibilities and, therefore, perceptions about what should be done. However, the distribution of discretionary powers is not fixed and, at present, there is a trend in Guyana to devolve more power and responsibilities to heads of school. Thus, heads have traditionally been expected just to do as they were told; to react to the directives given by the central authority. Now, more often, heads are expected to be proactive in developing, in consultation with others, policies and regulations for their own school and to implement these through school-based plans and School Improvement Plans.

Comments
Every school needs to have its own set of policies and regulations. You will already have regulations, or rules, governing the behaviour of pupils and procedures for setting standards of discipline, but do you explain the rationale or purpose of these in a school policy statement? Schools require policies in many areas for example, with regard to:

Learning and Teaching
Homework
Special needs - pupils with learning difficulties, disabilities and physical disabilities
Assessment
Reporting pupils’ progress
Extra -curricular activities
Language across the curriculum
Financial procedures

If you feel you need to know more about how to manage change in your school, have a look at Unit 8 in Module 2, Principles of Educational Management.

Activity 2.4
1) List three areas in which you, as head of your school, have developed policies and regulations to promote the development of your school
2) Identify any more areas where you think school policies are needed, and explain what you intend to do to develop them.

Comments
Every school needs to have its own set of policies and regulations. You will already have regulations, or rules, governing the behaviour of pupils and procedures for setting standards of discipline, but do you explain the rationale or purpose of these in a school policy statement? Schools require policies in many areas for example, with regard to:
o Learning and Teaching
o Homework
o Special needs - pupils with learning difficulties, disabilities and physical disabilities
o Assessment
o Reporting pupils’ progress
o Extra -curricular activities
o Language across the curriculum
o Financial procedures

If you feel you need to know more about how to manage change in your school, have a look at Unit 8 in Module 2, Principles of Educational Management.

School policies and regulations
We have discussed earlier how important it is for headteachers to have expectations of their staff. These are best communicated in a staff handbook so that all staff are very clear about what they have to do, how they should behave in certain circumstances, their professional conduct, what they are accountable for and the consequences of not following the agreed policies. This is not to say that you should produce an overbearing document which will make teachers feel uncomfortable and restricted, but one which gives them clear, sensible and logical directions about what they should do that will be in the best interests of the children.

We are aware, of course, that reproduction facilities in many schools might be difficult, but the payback for keeping staff informed of your expectations of them will be worth the expense. Such information is best kept in a loose, leaf file provided for all teachers, which they must surrender to their replacement when they leave the school. Why loose leaf? This is because your policies will be updated on a regular basis, like the law of the land, and old policies can easily be removed and substituted for new ones, keeping the staff fully informed at all times. These policies can also be a useful resource in staff development sessions when you will give practical advice on how to implement them.

Keeping teachers fully informed enables you to discuss their performance with them, congratulating them when they do well and supporting and encouraging them when improvements need to be made.

Summary
In this unit, we have looked at the issue of laws and regulations which underpin school governance. We have examined different kinds of laws which form the basis of school governance such as education acts and legislative instruments. We have considered the nature of educational policies and how administrative instructions and guidelines may apply to these particular issues. We have given careful thought to who has the power to issue directives and their scope.

Consideration has been given to the reading, analysis, storage and dissemination of such information and you have been encouraged to find your personal solutions to how you will deal with these.

Lastly, we have noted the importance of heads of school developing their own policies and regulations, as part of the process of school-based planning, making clear expectations, professionalism and particularly accountability.

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