School governing bodies report that South African principals are burdened by outdated administrative practices. The writer says the education system stifles leadership through excessive paperwork, and genuine dialogue is needed to reshape accountability into a tool for empowerment.
The GBF (Governing Body Foundation) national report on the administrative load of public-school principals should be read as more than just another education survey. It is a distress signal from the people expected to hold our schools together. According to the report, 84% of principals routinely work after hours to keep up with administrative demands; 92% say the administrative load is higher or much higher than it was five years ago; 71% experience a negative impact on their ability to perform their core duties as school leaders, and 59% say the burden makes them seriously consider leaving their role.
A principal is the heartbeat of a school: the moment you enter the gates, you can feel whether leadership has built a culture of care, discipline and safety, and that culture ultimately drives the school’s performance and it influences young educators’ decision to enter or leave the profession. When nearly six out of ten school leaders are thinking of walking away, government should not ask for another report. It should ask what its own systems are doing to schools.
