School leadership
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
2.2. Selection and working conditions
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
1. Terminology
The 1960 Education Act, amended in 2019, refers to school leaders as “directors”.
The 2022-2026 Multi-Year Development Plan refers to “schoolhoofden,” meaning “school principals”.
The Centre for Further Education in Suriname (CENASU) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MINOWC) refers to the term “schoolleider,” meaning “school leader”.
2. School principals
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
Competency standards and leadership frameworks and guidelines
1960 Education Act, amended in 2019, lists the responsibilities of school leaders in Article 53.
The Professional Profile of a School Leader, published by the Ministry of Education’s Centre for Further Education (CENASU), outlines the essential competencies expected of an experienced school leader, applicable across various educational levels, including kindergarten, primary, and secondary education. The identified skills encompass leaving a leadership impact, implementing effective policies, organizing, fostering a culture of continuous learning within the school, ensuring the quality of staff, guiding the educational process, fostering connections between people and organizations, overseeing administrative tasks, and developing a unique leadership style. These competencies collectively contribute to the success and effective leadership of the school leader across diverse educational settings.
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OES) and Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), of which Suriname is a member, published the 2021 Let's REAP! — Roadmap for Principals Guide No. 3 to support principals from the OES and CARICOM to address the unique needs of individual schools. In addition, the 2020 CARICOM Standards for the Teaching Profession Teachers, Educational Leaders and Teacher Educators also outline the multifaceted responsibilities of school leaders, emphasizing their role in national development. Leaders are expected to shape teaching and learning, develop staff and students, and implement strategies to achieve educational goals while considering the impact on individuals and society. The standards cover seven key areas including leading student and professional learning, personal and organizational change, sustainability, accountability, and equity, reflecting the complexity of school leadership and the region's vision for development.
Roles
Setting expectations/objectives: The 1960 Education Act states that principals are responsible for setting a vision and mission for their schools, derived from the national educational vision, mission, and goals.
The Professional Profile of a School Leader mentions that leading involves providing both individual and group-oriented leadership within the school setting. As a leader, one is expected to guide the team based on the school's vision, taking responsibility for assigned tasks and actions.
Developing teaching and learning: The 1960 Education Act outlines that principals are required to take measures for the continuous improvement of the quality of education and the optimization of student learning outcomes.
As highlighted by the Professional Profile of a School Leader, the school leader takes on the role of initiating and encouraging a process of learning, reflecting, and adjusting at both individual and team levels for continuous and sustainable school development. This involves leveraging the insights and expertise of the school team across various domains to collaboratively enhance the quality of education. The leader establishes exchange and reflection moments where team members share experiences, knowledge, and insights gained from training. Additionally, the leader creates space for innovations within the school, implements educational innovations in close collaboration with the team, ensures the team collectively follows the curriculum offered by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MINOWC), fosters the acceptance process of innovations among staff, safeguards and transfers existing knowledge within the school, and provides necessary tools (literature, materials, ICT, etc.) to stimulate learning.
Promoting collaboration: The 1960 Education Act mentions that school leadership, including the principal, is responsible for establishing daily activities, promoting measures to improve school results, ensuring overall peace and order in the school, and taking measures in various situations such as child abuse, sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination of students.
The Professional Profile of a School Leader stresses that a vital aspect of a school leader's responsibilities is organizing various activities within a team setting to ensure a continuous and smooth flow of processes at the school. This involves planning a comprehensive yearly programme and various events, preparing clear meeting agendas, and ensuring thorough documentation of discussions. The leader facilitates optimal financial and material resources for a student-focused school environment. Crucially, the school leader guides the team to contribute to the optimal functioning of the school, evaluating plans and organized activities with clear goals in mind.
Supporting staff development: The 1960 Education Act affirms that before the start of the new school year, the Ministry provides instruction and motivation sessions for newly appointed teachers and school leadership, as well as for teachers identified by the school leadership or inspection for such sessions.
Section IV of the Professional Profile of a School Leader highlights the role of the school leader in creating a “learning school”. Leaders should create spaces for teachers to exchange ideas and knowledge based on recent training courses and should also provide teachers with the tools to stimulate their own learning.
Acting in accordance with the ethical principles of the profession: The Professional Profile of a School Leader affirms that effective delegation, physical presence at the workplace, setting examples in work attitude and performance, and organized leadership work contribute to successful leadership. The role entails maintaining transparency, engaging in active delegation, and balancing meetings and written documentation.
Others: The Professional Profile of a School Leader highlights the school leader is involved in developing and aligning all domains, including quality assurance, finance, Human Resource Management policy (HRM), parent participation, and educational policy (including student tracking system) within the school, guided by the school's mission and vision.
2.2. Selection and working conditions
Degree requirements and prior teaching experience
The 1960 Education Act specifies the requirements for individuals to be appointed as school directors or assistant directors. It states that to be appointed as a school director, the individual must possess the highest educational qualification among the teachers at the respective school, be at least 23 years old, and have at least one year of experience working at the school.
Appointment decision
The 1960 Education Act states that the Education Ministry is responsible for the appointment of school directors and assistant directors based on the qualifications and requirements outlined therein.
Employment equity measures
The Constitution of the Republic of Suriname of 1987 promotes gender equality in employment by guaranteeing equal opportunity in the choice of profession and work, and by forbidding the prevention or limitation of access to any function or profession based on sex. It also states that all employees have the right to remuneration corresponding to quantity, type, quality, and experience, based on equal pay for equal work. It emphasizes the promotion of professional training for employees. The Gender Vision Policy Document 2021-2035 recommends that teachers and education sector decision-makers be trained in relation to gender sensitivity, including regarding hiring practices and gender equality between teachers.
Working conditions
The Minimum Wage Law of 2019 provides for the establishment of a minimum wage for Surinamese workers. As of 2023, the average Suriname teacher salary is USD 7500 per year.
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
Pre-service training
The 2022-2026 Multi-Year Development Plan indicates that there is training provided for various education professionals, including teachers, assistants, and school heads.
The Gender Vision Policy Document 2021-2035 recommends that teachers be trained in relation to gender sensitivity and the improvement of the secondary education program in Suriname. It states that ensuring that teachers and other stakeholders in the educational sector understand gender equality and the prevention of gender stereotyping in schools is a strategic goal to be achieved by the year 2035. It recommends strengthening the capacity of educational planners and teachers with regard to gender equality and sustainable development.
Induction and in-service training
The 1960 Education Act states that before the start of the new school year, the Ministry provides instruction and motivation sessions for newly appointed teachers and school leadership, as well as for teachers identified by the school leadership or inspection for such sessions.
The Centre for Further Education in Suriname (CENASU) has developed an online platform in collaboration with the Basic Education Improvement Programme (BEIP). It is one of the many actions that CENASU takes to further professionalize Suriname teachers, school leaders, and directors.
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
The 2019 amends to the 1960 Education Act and the Supervision Act require schools to establish a board as an integral component of their governance framework. In the case of private education, the responsibility lies directly with the legal entity or the individual organizing the education, who also serves as the competent authority.
The Professional Profile of the Teacher, the school principal role involves developing and aligning various domains, including quality assurance, finances, Human Resource Management (HRM) policy, parent participation, and educational policy (including student monitoring systems) within the school, guided by the school's mission and vision. The behavioral indicators encompass collaborating with the team and involving parents to formulate a unique vision, mission, and strategy based on guidelines from MINOWC or the school board, determining priority domains with the team, transparently and practically formulating policies for all mentioned domains, coordinating alignment among the specified domains in collaboration with the school team, developing policies to ensure the preservation of knowledge within the school, creating essential documents typical of a leadership role, such as a thorough yearly plan or schoolwork plan encompassing school policies, care plans, knowledge preservation plans, etc., and actively monitoring and evaluating the implemented policies.
3.2. Middle leaders
The Professional Profile of the Teacher published by the Centre for Further Education in Suriname (CENASU) demonstrates that Teachers carry additional responsibilities beyond the traditional classroom setting. They are expected to collaborate effectively with colleagues, actively participating in team efforts to enhance the quality of education and promote unity among the school staff. This involves regular consultation on educational events, contributing to annual planning, and taking proactive initiatives to support various school activities. Teachers are encouraged to engage in continuous learning through open communication, constructive feedback, and periodic evaluations of team functioning. Additionally, they play a vital role in collaborating with the broader community. Teachers, in consultation with school management, establish and maintain connections with parents, neighborhood organizations, cluster schools, and healthcare bodies, contributing to the creation of a robust learning environment. This collaboration involves regular communication, organization of joint activities, and active participation in external meetings, emphasizing the importance of community engagement in the educational process.
3.3. Parents
Article 31 of the 1960 Education Act provides for the establishment of an "oudercommissie" or parent committee. The school administration is entrusted with the responsibility of promoting parental engagement, and the parent committee plays a crucial role in this endeavor. The committee's duties encompass various aspects, such as actively contributing to the improvement of educational conditions, preventing discrimination within the school, supporting the implementation of a fair and just school policy, providing well-informed advice on the enforcement of school regulations, collaborating to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of the school community, and offering assistance in organizing and executing various school activities. Additionally, the Minister has the authority to establish further regulations concerning parental involvement.
3.4. Students
No legislation or policy has been found on student councils.
4. Governance
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
The National Strategic Plan for ICT in Education of 2014 states that Principals’ leadership plays an important role in guiding teachers to promote the effective use of ICT in education, but that in practice, they have little autonomy regarding the usage of ICT in education.
The National Strategic Plan for ICT also states that school leadership has the autonomy to choose learning management systems and school management information systems that are appropriate for the school’s adopted curriculum and pedagogical direction, that suit the characteristics of Suriname's education systems as well as the needs of all stakeholders involved, such as parents, teachers and inspectors.
The Professional Profile of a School Leader mentions that the role of a school leader in ensuring the quality of personnel involves implementing Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in a structured manner within their team, in collaboration with the HRM department of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MINOWC), and the Education Bureau Professionalization (OBP). This is demonstrated through actions such as requesting the appointment of a staff member with specific competencies from MINOWC or the school board, conducting recruitment interviews for candidates nominated by MINOWC or the school board, overseeing the onboarding process for new team members, conducting regular development or performance appraisal discussions, fostering reflective skills through Personal Development Plans (POP), organizing thematic or professional development days, ensuring teachers utilize offerings from OBP, evaluating the quality of education and the team through thorough assessments, and collaborating with the team, as well as the Guidance and Inspection department, for quality assurance within the school.
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
The World Bank SABER Country Report of 2016 highlights that challenges and gaps in the Education Management Information System (EMIS) in the country may indirectly impact the assessment and accountability of school leaders. The report recommends establishing a robust EMIS with standardized processes and metadata, which will contribute to better assessment and accountability practices for school leaders in Suriname.
Following the 2019 amendments to the 1960 Education Act and the Supervision Act, inspectors are granted access to all primary schools. It is mandatory for school management, staff, and other entities associated with the school to consistently furnish any requested information.
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
The Basic Education Improvement Program of 2014 notes that low teacher qualifications are a challenge in Suriname’s education system, and recommends that measures be taken to better assess school teachers.
The Professional Profile of a School Leader mentions that a school leader "Guides the Educational Process," which involves providing direction and guidance to both groups and individuals in achieving desired levels or outcomes within the educational process. This is demonstrated through classroom observations, constructive feedback, collaboration with teachers for identifying opportunities and solutions, coordination with care coordinators for effective teacher support, facilitating peer-learning sessions for the entire team, and addressing non-compliance with commitments or tasks. Section V of the Professional Profile of a School Leader also states that school leaders are responsible for ensuring the quality of school personnel. This includes conducting regular development interviews or performance reviews with team members.
