Management and Administration of Education

The provision of education is the responsibility of the government.  The Ministry of Education determines the policy and requirements for the different levels of education.  The country is divided into 5 education regions or zones.  Each region has a Regional Education Office and a Director of Education heads each office. The Ministry of Education, through the Regional Directorates, administers the government schools, having responsibility for the school buildings as well the supply of teachers, equipment and materials to the schools.  Each directorate has a corps of inspectors responsible for the coordination of educational activities in schools. Inspectors are selected from practicing head teachers and during their probationary period they follow a part-time in-service training course leading to the award of an Advanced Certificate in Educational Management. Subject to their successful completion of this course they are confirmed as primary school inspectors and become eligible for promotion in the grade. Their work is monitored by the Director of National Inspectorate through weekly meetings and a pre-set reporting mechanism. This provides a mixed mode of on-the-job and face-to-face training for inspectors.

The Private Secondary School Authority is responsible for the administration of government grants to private secondary schools.  At the higher education level, different councils and boards, set up by the government and the Tertiary Education Commission coordinate the activities of the different tertiary institutions.

See the SACMEQ reports for more information.