Would-be principals will no longer have a hand in choosing the school to which they are assigned.
Deputy permanent secretary in the Personnel Administration Division, Andrew Gittens, said they had done away with the practice of advertising for principals for individual schools.
Under the new policy, the position for principal will be advertised and candidates placed in a pool in the form of a priority list. They are to be assigned wherever there is a vacancy. The list is valid for two years, Gittens said.
“The post of principal is not assigned to a school . . . . There is no post called principal Harrison College, or principal Princess Margaret Secondary School which is my alma mater, there is nothing like that. There is a post called principal.
“In the past, because we were doing it by schools and we were asking boards of management to do the interviews we were doing it by school. But we have taken a position, now, that when we want a principal at the secondary level, as we do at the primary level, we’re going to advertise it. You apply, and if you’re on the short list and a [position] becomes available, whichever school comes up next, you going there . . . .
“There are some people who would only apply if there is school X, school Y, Z, but when it’s another school they’re not applying. So now you will apply, or you will never get picked,” Gittens cautioned.
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