Retired super principals join institute to train school heads

By KAREN CHAPMAN

The Star

PUTRAJAYA: Four retired super principals have been appointed as senior consultants with Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB) and will help train principals of cluster and under-performing schools.

The four – Mary Yap Kain Ching, Khuzaimah Sulaiman, Wan Karimah Wan Yaacob and Tee Pak Leong – received their appointment letters from Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein yesterday .

Hishammuddin said this was an opportunity for those who had performed well to continue contributing to the development of teaching although they had retired.

“There are actually five positions but the four are receiving their letters first. Their main task is to help develop the heads of cluster and under-performing schools,” he said after presenting the appointment letters to the four and three new super principals.

AB, in Genting Highlands, is one of the ministry’s in-house training facilities for teachers and principals.

Yap said the four – who are on contract for two years – would be based in their home states and would look after five schools each.

“The state education directors have identified these schools for us. So far, we have visited the schools once to understand their profiles.

“We will then work with the principals and senior assistants of each school on an individual action plan. We want a bottom-up strategy where they are involved rather than telling them what to do,” she said.

Yap said the minister wanted the four to draw on their own experiences when helping to train the leaders of these schools.

“Caring and sharing is our motto,” said Yap, who is well known for turning her once struggling school, SM Teknik Tawau, around.

Wan Karimah, former principal of SMK Tendong in Pasir Mas, said the four would spend the last week of every month at IAB.

“We will brief IAB director Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof on our action plans and the latest developments at the schools,” she said.

Tee and Khuzaimah are former principals of SMJK Sin Min in Sungai Petani and SM Agama Persekutuan in Labu.

On another matter, Hishammuddin said a bigger number of outstanding educators would be recognised following the Government’s decision to create 7,187 additional posts for super teachers and principals.

In all, 425 new super principal posts would be created, including five in the Jusa C grade.

There will also be 4,362 new super teacher posts for graduate teachers and 2,400 for non-graduate teachers.