SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Every school principal is first of all a teacher and then an administrator. He holds the key position in the school. We can hardly think of any organisation without a teacher. As is the school principal, so will be the school is an important saying when we enter some school, we can at once form an opinion about the administration of the school, his work, quality of his work etc. The character of the school reflects and proclaims the character of school principal or principal.
DEFINITIONS PRINCIPAL OF SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Different experts have defined the School principal/Principal in different ways
According to Ryburn
“The school principal holds the key position in a school just as the captain of a ship holds key position on a ship.”
According to Jaswant Singh
“The school principal or principal of a school is the hub of the education process.”
According to P. C. Wren
“What the main spring is to the watch the fly wheel to the machine or the engine to the steamship, the school principal or principal to the school. The character of the school reflects and proclaims the character of school principal. He is the seal and school is the wax. He is organiser, leader governor business director co-ordinator superintendent, teacher, guide philosopher and friend.”
According to S. N. Mukherji
“The School principal or Principal is a link between internal and external administration of the school.”
According to Mohyuddin Sultan
“No school can succeed if the teachers in it work as individual and not as a group but just as every group needs leader. So also school must have a leader who would stimulate and direct its work.”
According to Balkrishan Joshi
“By virtue of his office he has to be a nexus between the government and the school authorities, the management and the staff the master and pupils and the parents and teachers character rather than capacity tact rather than authority sympathy rather than severity are the force”.
In the running of an educational institution the school principal plays a very vital role. In the words of Secondary Education Commission on him the proper working of the school ultimately depends. The reputation of the school and the position that it holds in the society depends in a large measure on influence that he exercise over his colleagues, his pupil and the general public. He is also responsible for carrying out the policies and programmes of the department of education and he act as a liaison between it and the management of the general local community.
ROLE OR IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
No organisation can function effectively without a leader who would activate and direct its words. The quality of work and administration of school affairs reflects the capability of the school principal.
Keystone of Administrative Machinery
The school principal is the keystone to the arch of school administration. He is the hub of the Education process. He is the centre of the whole organisation of the school. The success and proper working of the school ultimately depends on the alertness, tactfulness, imagination, experiences and capabilities of the school principal or principal. Everything in the school campus, the plant, the staff, the curriculum methods and techniques of teaching, co-curricular activities, human relationships bear the impression of the personality of the head of the institution and reflects his leadership. He supervises and controls the whole process of the teaching and the co-curricular activities.
As a Leader
Educationally the school principal is an intelligent leader of a vast group and on his ability and skill as a sound and effective education leader, depends the success of a school. As an educational leader he has to secure willing co-operation of his followers. He is a leader of his colleagues as well as of the society. His words carry weight, his manners are affable and his disposition is amiable. In short, we can say that the school principal is a leader because he inspires, guides, directs, and manages the whole educative process.
As a Leader of Society
The school principal or Principal is not only the leader of the colleagues, teachers and students but also that of society. In fact school is the basis of the social mixing up. It reflects society and also contributes to keep it unchanging and healthy. He is a leader of staff as well as of the society. A healthy school can exist in healthy social setup and he can keep it healthy by producing dedicated, disciplined and energetic colleagues.
As a Coordinating Agency
School principal plays an important role as the coordinating agency. He is the coordinating agency between the school and society and other human elements of the institution. He is responsible to implement the orders of higher authorities and on the other hand he has to maintain healthy relations between the society and school. Unless he has the ability and capacity to co-ordinate, it will not be possible for him to work successfully.
As the despatching Agency
As the despatching agency it is his responsibility to implement the orders of higher authorities and on the other hand he has to maintain healthy relations between different types of agencies i.e. Government and non-government. The school principal principal receives the message from all these quarters and passes on message to all these agencies his position is that of a fly wheel of the machine.
Holds the Sacred position
The School principals or Principal occupies a very important place in the life of the school as well as society Unless the school principal has a balance and capable personality, it shall not be possible for him to do well, to either to the school or the society at large. On the one hand he has to look to the evils of the society and try to eradicate them, and on the other hand to make school a real place of education
As a Planner
If a Principal/ School principal is not careful, he will find himself spending much of the time in answering telephones, singing excuses, making repairs to the buildings, handling money, raising campaigns and performing other minor duties and then budget his time accordingly. So he plans all he the activities in the school.
As a Manager
In present time, school principal is to remains alive to the needs of the society, industry, agriculture, employment and different schemes flatted from time to time for the benefit of the schools and to get them for his student for the healthy development. This can be possible only if he can involve the total staff towards this end and work as a unit to get maximum out of it.
As a Liaison
The importance of Principles/ School principal lies in fact that on the one hand he is responsible for implementing the orders and instructions issued by the department of education and on the other hand he has to go by the priorities of the managing committee. He has to establish a link and maintain good relations between the society and school, by having contacts with the parents, the employers, the higher institution. the general public, the welfare department and community. He is a link between the school and the world around.
Hold the Key Position
The vital role of the school principal is running an educational institution. As an educational leader, he holds the key position in the school, as an important components of school administration he has importance responsibilities of administration and supervision. He plays a key position in the school and he supervises and controls the whole process of teaching and co-curricular activities, he plays a variety of roles like organiser, leaders, governor,teacher’s, guide, philosopher and friends.