Education development: ANCOPSS seeks synergy with FCT agencies

To ensure continuous support and collaboration of all agencies and departments under the supervision of the Education Secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory, the new executives of All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) has embarked on a familiarisation visit to the heads of the various educational agencies and departments in the FCT.

Speaking during its first port of call to the Ag. Director of FCT Secondary Education Board, Hajia Maryam Hassan, the newly elected President of ANCOPSS, Mallam Abdulkarim Abdulrahman, from one of the junior secondary schools in the FCT said the FCT ANCOPSS has mapped out strategies in which issues in the Education sector will be placed in the front burner above self-interest as representative of the principals in the FCT.

According to him, the confederation is to enhance the attainment of good secondary education for overall National Development while leading a crop of professionals in the teaching and learning process who are disciplined, committed and dedicated.

He said that as stakeholders in the educational sector, the confederation deemed it important to seek the cooperation and collaboration of the heads of the various agencies in their plan to move the educational sector forward in the Federal Capital Territory.

Abdulrahman noted that education held the key to other developments in any nation hence it could not be toyed with, adding that the new executives led by him were determined to restore the lost glory of the sector without compromising standards in the discharge of their various duties as principals from the different schools.

The ANCOPSS president said that Executives will not take for granted any suggestions that will help to move the FCT Schools to a greater height, stressing that the heads of agencies and departments in the educational sector had a lot to offer to the association considering their wealth of experience and words of wisdom having been principals at one point of their career or the other.

Earlier, in a welcome address, the Ag. Director, Hajia Maryam Hassan, with the management congratulated the new executives and extended their hands of fellowship to the association.

The Ag. Director stated that as they piloted the affairs of the FCT principals, there was need for cooperation among themselves as executives and among all principals, and vice principals in the day to day running of their various schools in order to build on a good leadership foundation.

She said every rule and regulation should be strictly adhered to without compromise, giving commendations where deserving and applying sanctions where necessary.
She reminded them of their primary focus in enhancing the teaching and learning process through the effectiveness and efficiency of the principals, the teaching staff and the non-teaching staff alike.

She urged them to eschew the habit of not responding promptly to given instructions no matter how little, adding that education is a serious investment that should not be taken for granted.

Hassan emphasised that teachers must prepare ahead of their students while updating themselves with global teaching techniques as well as setting high goals that are achievable.

The Ag. Director said it was heart-warming that the President of ANCOPSS was coming from the junior schools, hence the need to further intensify their efforts in ensuring junior students had a sound academic and moral foundation as they prepared for Senior Secondary Education based on their intellectual endowments.

She appealed to them to give adequate attention to the welfare and health needs of students in their custody as well as making the learning environment conductive and maintaining cleanliness, adding that succession plan is also an important aspect of leadership through mentoring.

Other management staff who also spoke tasked the association on good record-keeping, peaceful co-existence among the Junior and Senior Schools within the same academic compound, positive leadership influence, priority of special needs children who also deserved education and skill acquisition, as well as equipping the library with relevant textbooks for the benefit of students among others.