Improving the Quality of Education by Enhancing the Competence of Principals

Principals play an important role in the success of education because principals have the authority in determining the learning policies in respective schools. Therefore, any principal must have creativity, as well as governance and leadership capabilities.

To support improvement of the competency of school principals, Tanoto Foundation held training rounds in three provinces, namely North Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi, from March to May 2018. The purpose of this training is to enable principals to apply best practices in education to improve the learning process in the classroom.

This training was well received by local education office officials, school supervisors and principals. In the training in Jambi, school principals and school supervisors were trained to improve quality of the schools through the strengthening of active learning, reading culture, school-based management, and community participation.

“This training is very interesting, supervisors and principals will later on be able to develop the materials jointly in their respective schools. I plan to guide the principals in regard the implementation, “said Pahrawi, M. Pd, a supervisor at the Education and Culture Office of Tebo District, Jambi.

Elita, Principal of SDN 92/V Gemuruh, Tanjung Jabung Barat District, Jambi, said that the training was very beneficial for the advancement of her school.

“With this training, I can further improve parts of my work that need correction. In regard teaching and learning processes, I will encourage the teachers to increase the use of the learning media so that the children become more enthusiastic. Meanwhile, in regard the reading culture, I’ve the idea of establishing a reading ambassador in each class,” said Elita.

Meanwhile, in the training in Riau, principals were invited to learn to develop schools comprehensively. Apriliyanti, one of the participants from SDN 01 Pelalawan, Riau, said that the training was very beneficial for herself as a principal.

“This training taught me how to be a manager who is able to manage, develop, and evaluate the school’s resource performance. I also feel that the training is very helpful for me in performing my function as a principal,” she said.

In the meantime, the training in North Sumatra was more focused on the role of a school in creating the process of active learning and increasing the interest in reading in the school. According to Rodiah, Principal of SDN 014736 Karang Baru, Talawi, North Sumatra, this training helped her and other principals in implementing active learning as well as improving students’ reading interest.

“The materials provided in this training help us in implementing School Based Management by giving supports to teachers in applying active learning and implementing reading culture program. I will apply results of this training in my school so that our teachers can improve their characters in order to improve our school performance,” said Rodiah.