Episode 2: Accidental School Administrator!
Adebare Egunjobi
August 2024
Mr Okonta eventually got an opportunity to meet the Coach after the uneventful outing at the Elite Parents Meet. It took him sometime but he later got an appointment and he went with only one question in his mind:
“Coach! Why am I not getting many things right in my school?” Mr Okonta genuinely asked the Coach after the initial exchange of pleasantries
“There are two dimensions for any business breakthrough Mr Okonta. The prayer dimension and the knowledge dimension. I guess you focus only on prayer dimension with very little of knowledge dimension” The Coach calmly explained.
Of a truth, Mr Okonta has always been awed by what he described as the ‘prophetic precision’ with which the Coach often addresses him whenever they engage on his school business matters.
“You are right Coach. I do more of more prayers than getting knowledge about this business” Mr Okonta confessed
“Yes, prayer is good and is working so much for you but it should not be the only factor, otherwise you would be like a bird that flies on only one wing” The Coach continued
“You particularly need more knowledge in this business because you are an accidental school administrator” the Coach dropped the bombshell
“Accidental school administrator?” Mr Okonta quizzed, puzzled and hurt at the same time but trying as much as possible to hide it
“I am sure that you didn’t like the description” the Coach asked with his wry smiles
“Well, it depends on what you mean” Mr Okonta said defensively without trying to appear defiant
The Coach continued unabashedly
“I mean you weren’t initially trained to be a school administrator, you and many of your colleagues find yourselves in this business by what I called accidents of history. It wasn’t what you set out to become or trained for ab initio. I don’t mean to disrespect you but if we don’t get this aspect well cleared, we might not make progress in today’s session”
Mr Okonta paused and thought hard. Though he may not like the name but the description is apt.
He can vividly remember how he and about eight of his fellow Proprietors in his group started their different schools in the past – Accidents of history indeed!
The first member of their group was suddenly laid off from his banking job about 15 years ago and due to his passion for children, he decided to use his disengagement benefits to start the school.
The second member of their group just relocated to town many years ago and was looking for a good school for his children, when he couldn’t find any that matched his taste, he decided to start one for his children at home and that was how it snowballed into a school.
The third member of their group was working in a private school until he fell out with his boss. He resigned from the school out of frustration and decided to start his own school
The fourth member was given an inheritance of a building by his late parents and out of what to do with the asset commercially, he was advised to convert it to a school which he did and that was how he became a school owner.
The fifth member of their group moved to their new site and was confronted with the twin challenges of transport fare to town on a daily basis and lack of good school in the new area. He started a school in their premises and today it has become a full blown school.
The sixth member of the group finished her maternity leave and couldn’t get a good creche for her baby. Not comfortable with dropping her baby anywhere at that early age, she resigned her job and decided to start a creche. That creche has become a group of Nursery, Primary and School today.
For the last member of their group, it was pure joblessness and financial pressure that led him to become a school Proprietor. Having dropped letters upon letters of applications for job in different companies and organisations across different sectors and industries without a success, he resigned to fate and started home lessons for the students in the neighborhood. It was the home lessons that graduated into extramural classes which has today become a full blown school!
With deep introspection, Mr Okonta discovered that neither he nor any member of his group actually set out to become a school owner from the beginning. They found themselves here through different routes of accidents of history in the words of the Coach.
“You are right Coach” Mr Okonta finally admitted “Many of us truly accidentally found ourselves in this business for different reasons. But the public school administrators are not accidental school administrators, they are intentionally trained for their own roles unlike many of us in the private school system, right?” He asked, seeking corroboration from the Coach
“That’s not true Mr Okonta” The Coach calmly disagreed “they are also accidental school administrators” he said smiling
“How?” Mr Okonta was obviously confused
Sensing his confusion, the Coach clarified further
“Many of the public school administrators out there were intentionally trained as teachers, not as school administrators. They trained as teachers and practiced as teachers and after putting in quite a number of years in the classroom, they were promoted to the post of Vice Principals and then to Principals. They weren’t trained for these roles Mr Okonta. They became school administrators as a result of their training and experience as classroom teachers and not as a result of any formal training in school administration”
“Hmmm, so they are also accidental school administrators” Mr Okonta asked almost rhetorically. He has never seen it from this light before. This Coach is deep, he thought to himself
“Yes they are” the Coach replied confidently
“So what’s the way out?” Mr Okonta cannot wait for reply
“The only way out is to transit from an accidental school administrator to an intentionally trained school administrator. Running any venture without being properly trained for it will bring about a lot of copycatism, trial and error and experimental practices. This process prolongs breakthroughs and the success comes with a lot of avoidable wounds and injuries. So, Mr Okonta, you need to transit to an intentionally trained school administrator” the Coach challenged him
“Hmnnnnnn, but I already had my PGDE and currently running my Masters degree” Mr Okonta countered
“I guess those courses are in Education right?” The Coach asked without sharing the same excitement with which Mr Okonta made the announcement
“Where else will they be?” Mr Okonta asked, half defiant, half curious
“But you are not just an Educationist”
“Then who am I Coach?” Mr Okonta said, slightly raising his voice. It is apparent that Mr Okonta was bracing up for a confrontation with the Coach. After 15 years of growing a school and PGDE and Masters in view, he will not open his eyes and let anyone rubbish his claim to being an Educationist without a fight!
“If I am not an Educationist, who am I Coach?” He repeated
“You are a combination of an Educationist and a businessman. Having training in Education without training in Business is like flying on only one wing of knowledge which is what you have been doing for the past 15 years! A Proprietor wears two caps: the cap of an educationist and that of a businessman. Unfortunately, many of our training institutions do not cater for the business angle. What you need is not just Educational Management, what you need is School Business – that one will combine the two dimensions of knowledge which you badly need”
Mr Okonta’s guard dropped. He always finds it difficult to fault this man. Though he appears quite younger and unassuming, but his depth of the education industry is legendary. How come I am just meeting him? Mr Okonta was thinking to himself.
The Coach continued as if reading his mind
“You know about Curriculum Management but you lack knowledge of Human Resources Management. You mastered Instructional Materials Management but you lacked the knowledge of Financial Management. You know so much about Classroom Management but know next to nothing about Brand Management. You have a slight idea about Student Academic Performance Management but you lack competence in Legal Management. You learnt about Teaching Methodologies but had no training in School Marketing Techniques. With this incomplete knowledge, tell me how you want to navigate your way through the stormy waters of school business?”
A brief silence followed. Mr Okonta was deep in thought. This is a journey of self discovery for him. It was as if a scale that has covered his face for years has just dropped off. How can any business thrive and last without this basic knowledge? How?
“Hmmmnn. This is why my school business is crawling my Coach. Trial and error approach, copycatism, experimental policies, success with avoidable wounds and injuries. You just described me Coach. I wish I had packaged this training in business together with my training in Education since I started about 15 years ago. With all my efforts in building educational standards for my school, my deficiency in business knowledge is already playing out: my marketing style is failing, my brand is not competitive, my school fees are trapped out there, my teachers are not giving me their best, my figures are not adding up. I am truly good in Education but deficient in Business” Mr Okonta laid his mind bare, quite painfully. It’s been a long time he had someone to really strip himself naked for like this. Everyone out there hails him as one of the best school Proprietors in town, only he knows where the shoe pinches, and this Coach seems to know too. He is the only one who has ever addressed him quite bluntly and unequivocally like this regarding his ‘thriving’ school business. Mr Okonta was sober.
“It’s Ok. Better late than never” The Coach cheered him up with disarming smile, deliberately dousing the tension that was already building up
“So where do I start from now Coach?” Mr Okonta asked with determination to raise the bar of his game like never before.
“Go get three layers of knowledge in School Business that will put you completely on top of your game as a school business owner Mr Okonta” The Coach told him very affirmatively
“Three layers of knowledge?”
“Yes” The Coach answered
At this juncture, Mr Okonta brought out his jotter and pen like a school boy, ready to write as voraciously as he possibly can
“Number 1?” He asked without even looking up, pen set on paper
” Number one is Educational Knowledge. Knowledge in Class Management, Instructional Materials Management, Curriculum Management, Academic Performance Management, School Records Management, and other courses in Educational Management. I know you already got that so let’s move to the next”
“Ok. Number 2?” Mr Okonta asked as he kept writing.
“The second layer is Business knowledge. Knowledge in Financial Management, Human Resources Management, Brand Management, Legal Management, Business Development Management, Marketing Management, Portfolio Management, Investment Management, Conflict Resolution Management, Customers Relationship Management, Facility Management, etc
“Hmnnnnnn…. And Number 3?”
Knowledge in Trends: Emerging Trends, Evolving Trends, Contemporary Trends, Current Trends and Future Trends. Any school owner who does not master three three layers of knowledge will soon be overtaken and left behind in 21st Century school business Mr Okonta. Remember that if you don’t get the training, others will!”
“And they will use it against me in the competitive field out there. The reason I lost have of my student population to competition. The reason I lost such a huge opportunity at Elite Parents Meet. If I don’t get the training, others will…” Mr Okonta repeated the lines, nodding his head
“My last question Coach?”
“Please go ahead Mr Okonta”
I have spent 15 years and I have not seen school business explained like this. All I know is Educational Management and Administration. Please where do I get these three layers of knowledge in one single capsule Coach?
“Go and enrol in International College of School Administration ICSA this holiday and get yourself equipped for the coming session. That is the only place that I know for now where all the three layers of knowledge are combined in their curriculum. It is the new hub of training for leading school owners and administrators in Africa today and I will be waiting for you there as the Lead Facilitator of many of the courses in ICSA”
Mr Okonta rose up, shook the Coach’s hands warmly and firmly. He packed his jotter carefully and held it close to his chest
“I will meet you in class then Coach” He said with bulldog tenacity of purpose
“Hopefully so!”
INTROSPECTION AND DIGESTION
Share your thoughts on this dialogue between Mr Okonta and the Coach on accidental school administrators