The country boasts predominantly young, exuberant and highly qualified teachers. The market is saturated with teachers and some of them are being engaged on temporary terms owing to non-availability of permanent teaching posts while others painfully have joined the army of the unemployed. The greatest asset of any organisation is its human resource and the teaching profession is blessed in this regard. However, the stark reality is that the presence of a highly qualified teaching force has not translated into improved learning. The continuing decline in academic achievement levels shows that there is no return on investment. This is hitherto the source of grave concern for government, parents and the community at large.
The system keeps on conveniently forgetting that production of teachers is one thing but managing and harnessing this critical human resource for purposes of achieving improved learning outcomes is another thing. As the phenomenon of declining academic results refuses to go away, it is clear that the presence of trained teachers in the system does not guarantee quality results. The system can hide but cannot escape the reality that all schools, notwithstanding the presence or otherwise of other critical inputs, need good and inspirational school leaders. The present pool of potentially and fundamentally good teachers exists amidst a drought of leadership.
