Report of the 5th Conference of the African Convention of Principals - Kampala, Uganda - 24-29 August 2008Click here to download this report (197Kb pdf file). The papers from the conference can be downloaded from the links at the end of this report. Nearly 800 Principals met at the Munyonyo Speke Resort Conference Centre in Kampala for the fifth Conference of the African Convention of Principals. The ACP is a regional Association of school leadership organisations in Africa. The ACP was founded at the initiative and encouragement of the ICP. The idea of an African alliance was first mooted in an ICP Council meeting in Jerusalem and came into reality at the first convention held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2000. Past President of the ICP David Wylde and Kenyan educator Peterson K Muthathai were the key movers in the formation of the ACP.
The Conference was supported by the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports and was opened by the First Lady of Uganda, the Hon. Janet Museveni. The Minister of Education and Sports, the Hon B. Namirembe Bitamazire was very supportive and closed the conference calling for peace, justice, human rights and democracy to be included in the school curriculum. She also asked principals to promote life long learning by encouraging young people to always continue with their learning.
The formation of the ACP is testimony to the value of networking and bringing good people together across the world. Peterson Muthathai detailed the history of the formation of the ICP. In 1998, at the ICP Council Meeting in Boston, Past ICP President David Wylde called together the African members present and spoke of a vision of an African Confederation of Principals. In 1999, in Helsinki at the ICP Convention, 9 African associations met and approved a paper about the formation of the ACP. In April 2000, at the ICP Jerusalem Council Meeting, the group discussed and adopted the paper and the ACP was formally formed. The first meeting of the ACP Committee was held later that year at St Stithians College in Johannesburg, South Africa. The very first ACP Convention was held at St Stithians College in August 2000.
This fifth Convention was attended by 744 delegates from Lesotho, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Five members of the ICP Executive also attended.
The 5th Convention beginning was enjoyed by student choirs and ACP Officials. Peterson K Muthathai provided some
background about the ACP.  In doing so, he highlighted the important role of the ACP in facilitating the ability of school leaders across Africa to discuss issues, canvas solutions and to help each other in an environment which respects human rights and dignity. He stressed the importance of achieving the objectives of the ACP and of African education.
‘Education is the responsibility of each government’ said Chief Olisah Nzemeka It is regrettable that many African nations will not meet the goals of the 2015 targets. He pointed out that African Nations need leadership to guide them through the many problems besetting African education, for it is only through education that the gap between developing and developed countries will be bridged. Chief Olisah Nzemeka handed over the presidency of the ACP to Mrs Rose Izizinga. The photograph to the right shows the handover ceremony. In accepting the presidency of the ACP, Mrs Rose Izizinga asserted that Africa is on the way to achieving its potential, and that school principals are critical in this process. Her speech is included in the conference papers available from this website. She finished with the following: “The children are the light and the future. It is up to principals to nurture the light.”
 In expressing her joy at attending the 5th ACP Convention, ICP President Kate Griffin (shown to the right) thanked the organisers for presenting a splendid conference. In congratulating the incoming ACP President, she expressed her best wishes for a successful presidency. Mrs Griffin made a presentation about how school leaders were supported globally and outlined many of the trends in school leadership for the participants. Her powerpoint presentation can be found on this website. A total of twenty three papers were presented to the conference and all can be accessed through the ICP website.
The next venue for the African Convention of Principal 6th Conference in 2010 will be Lesotho.
In its concluding plenary session, the following resolutions were adopted by the Conference: 1. African countries should put in place formal and systematic leadership training for teachers aspiring to become school principals as well as those already in headship positions. This is urgent since different studies have shown that a critical factor in determining whether schools succeed or fail is the quality and stability of their leadership. 2. African Governments should encourage, support and permit principals to attend conferences such as the ACP/ICP to enhance their professional growth and development. 3. Since science is the answer to the alleviation of most of Africa’s problems, African countries should enact a policy to prioritise the teaching of science and Information and Communications Technology in schools. 4. Promotion of science subjects should however not be done at the suppression of other subjects. All subjects are important and are needed in a broad and diverse education. 5. African Governments should show commitment to the teaching of science by increasing the budgetary support to this area and to education as a whole. 6. African Governments should promote the welfare of teachers and principals and increase funding to the education sector to ensure the delivery of quality education. 7. Governments should involve educationists in decision making and policy formulation at all times. 8. HIV AIDS education should be integrated in the curriculum, and principals should adopt a holistic programme approach to sensitise the youth against HIV/AIDS. 9. Students should be enabled to develop critical and analytical thinking skills to question assumptions, develop self esteem, build character and develop integrity and values. 10. Principals should overcome the fear factor that keeps students from achieving to their full potential especially in science subjects and ICT. 11. African countries should put in place a policy for talent development and teachers should be trained to identify and teach gifted students. 12. Principals should develop a hospitable culture in the school; one that recognises the importance of the school’s clients. 13. Democracy, integrity, peace and conflict resolution should be integrated in the school curriculum. 14. The African Union (AU) should recognise, facilitate and create a permanent desk for the African Convention of Principals. 15. The Convention observed that attitude and application are key learning tenets that give leadership and science a relevant definition in the African education context. Finally, the organisers of the Convention express their appreciation to:- The First Lady Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni, Member of Parliament of Ruhama County.
- The Ministry of Education and Sports for its profound contribution.
- The Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire.
- The Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Hon. Ham Mulira.
- The Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, F.X. Lubanga
- All renowned resource persons
- All school Boards of Governors
- Staff and Management of Speke Resort Munyonyo.
- All African Governments and other organisations that contributed to the success of the Convention
E.J. Brierley
Executive Secretary, International Confederation of Principals
16/10/08
Conference Papers- The ICP - Kate Griffin (381Kb pdf file).
|
