The OECS Commission through its Education Development Management Unit rolled out its four country development agenda in Education through its Education Support Project in 2016. The two million US dollar project sought to among other things, review the appraisal instrument for principals and their job descriptions to ensure they aligned with leadership standards, develop a program tailored to school leaders within the OECS and to review a handbook for school principals. A critical component of the project was to strengthen leadership and accountability among school leaders. According to the Head of the Education Development Management Unit at the OECS Commission, while eighty percent of principals across the OECS have earned at least, most are not certified in leadership and accountability.

    Representing the Ministry of Education at a leadership forum was the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Kendall Khodra. Khodra notes the key to improving education in the region is through strengthening its leadership capabilities. 

“Today our education system has made great leaps towards the essential imperatives for ensuring a quality education system; the retooling and reskilling of our leaders. It has been said over and over that the quality of the education system depends on the quality of the educators. Over the past years tremendous efforts have been made at initiating projects and today one of these components have come to fruition,” Khodra says. 

    Delivering the feature address was former Chief Education Officer was Fortuna Anthony who spoke on the importance of transformational leaders.  Anthony encouraged the attendees of the event to share the knowledge gained from the exercise. 

“Are you in the mindset to change, are you prepared to be the visionary who values others and therefore see yourself as being the fertilizer which helps your plants to flourish; or are you the hoarder who is so afraid that the knowledge gained will remain with you because you do not wish someone else to achieve it. Knowledge that is not shared is a waste of time. You only know how good you are as a leader if you can share your knowledge and effect change,” Anthony says. 

    Approximately 125 school leaders were trained and certified in leadership and accountability under the project.