1,600 school principals to be trained on online management

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has partnered with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) to train some 1,600 public school principals on  better school management using the Internet.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the online school management training of public school principals will be pursued under the DepEd’s Excellence in School Leadership in Southeast Asia (eXCELS) program.

“By upgrading their (principals’) competencies, we optimize the principal’s leadership and management capabilities while updating them on the latest trends in curriculum and instruction,” Lapus said.

About 1,200 school principals have already been scheduled for a four-week intensive online session where a learning tutor guides them through different sessions.

The principals can either have group interaction, one-on-one consultations with the flexible learning tutor, or do online forums among their peers, DepEd said.

The program also pushes principals to read, download and study resource materials, and answer exercises and case studies in their own time.

Among the learning resources for the principals are the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) materials and the online Harvard Education Review.

SEAMEO-INNOTECH welcomed DepEd’s move.

“We are pleased that the DepEd leadership can see the potentials of the flexible learning system and appreciate the opportunities it offers for the future,” said Dr. Erlinda Pefianco, SEAMEO INNOTECH Director.