By George Bulombola

Mzuzu, March 7, Mana: Director of Teacher Education and Development in the Ministry of Education, Zizwa Msukuma, has emphasized on the need for strengthened leadership capacity of management teams of all public primary schools.

He was speaking in Mzuzu on Wednesday when he opened a 10-day school leaders training.

The leaders, drawn from Mzimba South, Likoma and Mzuzu City, include head teachers, primary education advisors, section heads, school inspectors and deputy head teachers.

Msukuma said leadership is paramount for improved school performance through effective teaching and learning approaches.

“Most of the teachers who are in leadership positions were just nominated in such capacities without knowing what it takes to be leaders as they did not undergo formal training on their roles, hence the training,” said Msukuma.

He said the ministry has plans to raise the current Initial Teacher Primary Education Certificate, which is the current entry qualification into the teaching service, to diploma as a way of motivating teachers and improve their performance.

“Our aim is to ensure that teacher training colleges start offering diploma and degree programs and this will be done through distance learning,” he said.

The programs are expected to roll out in the 2025/2026 education calendar after going through several process such as bench marking.

According to Msukuma, this will necessitate functional review saying the ministry will soon write a Cabinet Paper on the same.

 Speaking on behalf of the teachers, Fletcher Mwale, commended the ministry for the training which he said would go a long way in improving teachers’ capacities in various fields.

“This initiative will address some of the leadership gaps which school management teams face as they execute their duties,” said Mwale.

According to one of the inspectors of schools for Mzimba South, Caroline Kadango, head teachers who are not trained in leadership roles have challenges in managing schools.

“In such situations, most teachers develop haywire approach to their duties leading to poor performance at school, zone, district and national levels,” said Kadango.