PRINCIPAL Director of the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) Dr Maurice Smith is appealing to local school boards to recruit NCEL trained individuals as they seek to fill vacancies for school principals.

He is asserting that NCEL certified individuals are equipped with skills and competencies that make them well positioned to lead the country’s schools and to achieve improved outcomes.

He made the appeal last week while addressing the graduation ceremony for the first cohort of aspiring principals trained under a partnership between NCEL and the University of the West Indies. Thirty-five educators, mainly school teachers with at least a bachelor’s degree, completed the nine-month programme offered at both the Mona Campus and at the UWI’s Western Campus in St James. All 35 received a fellowship from the Ministry of Education.

At last Tuesday’s ceremony, held at the UWI’s Regional Headquarters in Mona, Dr Smith disclosed that another 114 educators began the Aspiring Principals Programme last month.

The graduation ceremony comes ahead of legislation which will stipulate that all public school principals must be NCEL certified. Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites said that even without the legislation, he is reluctant in approving appointments if the recommended individuals have not benefited from NCEL’s training.

The NCEL was introduced under the Education System Transformation Programme in recognition of the need to focus on the development of school leaders.

The College has introduced leadership qualification programmes for aspiring, in-service principals as well as other education professionals including bursars and education officers.

To date, close to 600 practising principals have been trained under the Effective Principals Training Programme.