The provision of support services by school clerks in the Northern Highveld Region of the Mpumalanga Department of Education
Loading...
Authors
Mahlangu, E. P.
Issue Date
2002-10
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
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).