Gender balance, leadership competencies and issues of leadership in the African educational sector took centre stage at the continental conference ongoing at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra.

During a forum, participants expressed concern about the fact that in most countries, teachers were promoted to be head teachers to manage schools without any formal training to equip them to function effectively.

Also, there was a big gender gap, as the number of female school leaders in Africa was less than 20 per cent.

At the higher institutions of learning, the number of female Vice Chancellors was between two to three per cent, yet evidence had it that the schools that were female-led had better outcomes than those that were male-led.

Conference

The conference, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Triennale 2025,  is being hosted by the Ministry of Education.

It is a forum for policy dialogue, where leaders and stakeholders come together to share best practices, innovations and evidence-based strategies for improving.

This year’s event is on the theme: “Strengthening the resilience of Africa’s educational systems: Advancing towards ending learning poverty by 2035, with a well-educated and skilled workforce for the continent and beyond.” 

A study conducted by the Education International Africa region and launched on school leadership in Africa revealed that in the majority of African countries, there is no school leadership policy.

Contributing to the discussion, the Regional Director, Africa Education International, Dr Dennis Sinyolo, described as shocking, the findings that there was a lack of career preparation for teachers and school leaders, particularly for teachers.

He said the report, which was launched in June this year, revealed that there was no teacher policy in most African countries.

“Still related to that, where policies exist, it shocked us that actually, sometimes, school leaders and teachers are not consulted or involved in their development,” Dr Sinyolo added.

“Sometimes, they are only called when the adoption of a policy is taking place, so that they witness the adoption.

“That is obviously a problem, because if we are developing a policy for every group, in this case teachers, school leaders have to be involved. Nothing for us without us,” Dr Njolo stressed.

He said the study also revealed that generally, in Africa, there was a lack of preparation or training for school leadership.

“It is haphazard, it's not systematic in the majority of countries. So it's a big issue,” he added.

Dr Sinyolo also pointed out that significantly noticed in the report finding, was the disproportionate representation of female leaders in school leadership.

Ghana

Earlier in a panel discussion, the Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, giving a historical perspective on school leadership in Ghana, explained that it had progressed through three phases.

Prof. Oduro explained that recognising the increasing complexity of school issues, the Ministry of Education then moved to a phase emphasising leadership training prior to appointment, implementing various leadership development programmes focusing on learning, transformation and general leadership.

Uganda

Giving the Ugandan perspective, the Ugandan Minister of State for Primary Education, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, recalled that Africa faced the challenge of preserving its culture amid modernisation, particularly with the increasing use of ICT in teaching and learning.

He explained that to preserve their culture, school leaders had formed associations, such as the Secondary Head Teachers in Uganda and the National Primary School Head Teachers Association, which met regularly to discuss and advise one another, helping them balance national and regional objectives.