The provision of support services by school clerks in the Northern Highveld Region of the Mpumalanga Department of Education

Abstract

The effective and efficient provision of services by school clerks has been affected by a number of factors. The study has revealed that the lack of job analysis description and specification before posts were created. led to the confusion about the duties to be performed by school clerks. The majority of schools studied did not have proper job descriptions for school clerks with the resultant appointment or unsuitable candidates. Only duty sheets were found in some of the schools and they differed from one school to another. School principals were involved in the selection process in some schools but the lack of training of these officials in administrative functions compromised the effective selection process. The only exception has been observed to be schools that fell under the former Transvaal Education Department (TED). The selection process in these schools seems to have been more inclusive ns compared to other departments of education. It has been suggested that the school principal should be involved in all the steps or the selection process as a supervisor or the school clerk. The study has also shown that the lack of training or school principals in administrative activities has contributed to the lack of development and the establishment of a career path for school clerks. It is not only the lack of training of the principals in general administrative functions that affected service delivery by school clerks but the lack of understanding of the evaluation system by both the principals and clerks. Whenever personnel evaluation was undertaken ln some schools. it was solely for promotion purposes and not for the identification of developmental needs. It has been revealed in the study that the budget allocated to the majority of the schools by the Mpumalanga Department of Education(MDE) had not been used. It is for this reason that a proposal has been made for the training of school principals in courses such as Public Administration Standards offered by the South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI).