Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju Wednesday highlighted the need for a national school leadership curriculum that has the capability to transform each school on a rights-based approach.

“Academic findings indicate that the most critical part of any schooling system which impacts learning is the school leadership. We thus need a national school leadership curriculum that builds upon school leadership capabilities to transform each school based on a rights-based approach,” Raju said.

“It should ensure respect for diversity, responsiveness and encourage collaborative relationship between the head teacher and the teachers, between teachers and teachers, in fact between all the stakeholders,” he added.

Raju was speaking at the launch of the National Programme of School Leadership Development, where he also released a handbook of curriculum framework.

The nationwide programme is envisioned to be provided by a network of professionals from every Indian state.

The handbook, developed by the National Centre for School Leadership (NCSL), is a user-friendly resource kit that is self-explanatory and can be used by stakeholders working in the area of school education.

The handbook, replete with case studies and extracts from reference books, is also a resource to support facilitators and address leadership needs of school heads.

“It is indeed a massive task to initiate a nation-wide programme of school leadership development with the enormous magnitude of 1.5 million primary schools, 225 million children, 5.5 million teachers and with almost the same number of head teachers and principals and about 0.3 million education functionaries supporting schools across the country,” Raju said in his address.

He added that the opportunities for leadership, capacity building and training currently available are limited in scope, coverage, relevance and impact.

“Hence, it would require a long-term sustained engagement, capacity building and commitment of a different kind,” the minister said.

“Transforming each school is an enormous task, and a common or one model of leadership will not suffice in this context. Therefore, we need to work on multiple leadership styles to improve school climate and the performance in the diversity of context,” he added.

The event was organised by the NCSL and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration.