Introduction
The education sector plays a crucial role in the social and economic development of a nation (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, nd,), fundamental to the fulfilment to individual basic needs A country’s education is seen as a reflection of its “institutional and ideological framework of the its society†(McNeely, 1995, p. 489). Therefore, the development clear policies and plans are vital in the attainment of the goal of Education for all (UNESCO, 2012, para. 1).
Policies refer to expressed or implied statements which describe the principles and rules that are guides and constraints for an organization, and are usually put together by the ...view middle of the document...
The information gathered was through a face to face interview with an education officer, who has been employed with the ministry for over twenty years.
Technical Skills
Technical skills “are performance objectives and competencies required by a specific occupation (Centre for Remediation Design, 1991, cited in Stone, 2009, p. 21) and describe the responsibilities needed for competent performance and a description of the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out those responsibilities (Stone, 2009, p. 21). Within the Ministry of Education, the relevant personnel who are most likely to be involved in the education planning process and suitably qualified for their roles. Many of them possess degrees in management, early childhood, general education, counselling and so on. The Minister of Education is trained in the area of economics and planning. They are all aware of their roles in terms of being able to influence policy decisions, monitoring and evaluating. Officers are employed based on their possession of the required skills and competence.
Managerial Skills
The managerial aspect of policy capacity is an area that is constantly analysed through the support of UNESCO, (UNESCO, 2013). Managerial skills refer to the skills that the hierarchy of any organization use in order to accomplish the goals of the organization and will include abilities, knowledge base, experiences and perspectives (Education Portal, 2013). According to the IIEP (2013), sustainable development is dependent on “internal capacity and leadershipâ€. The Ministry of Education is headed by the Minister, followed Permanent Secretary who is the administrative head and is responsibility for the over overall functioning of the ministry. The education section of the ministry is headed by the Chief Education Officer who leads a technical team consisting of the senior education officers. They spearhead planning and development, school administration and management and curriculum development. There are several other unites such as material production, school support services, testing and measurement and so on, with each one having a designated head. Senior management team is made up of all heads of department.
The various personnel within the ministry perform different roles as it relates to its capacity for policy development. Chief Education Officer possessing the responsibility for certain level of policy directive, but the entire senior management team will advise on the direction of the education system. The Minister of Education however, presents policies of the Ministry of Education to the government. There are other personnel such as the statistician, planning officer and information manager who are part of the process. All officers must be and are suitably qualified. These various components confirm the capacity of the Ministry of Education for policy and planning.
The managerial level of the ministry is responsible for making projections and developing...