Abstract

By almost any measure, most South African public schools, and especially schools in the Western Cape, have under-performed academically. For a number of years, there has existed a wide degree of consensus among education stakeholders, and particularly in government, that the problems in our schools extend beyond mere academic under-achievement. Principals need to be occupied with the tasks of managing and leading teaching and learning, that is, instruction leadership, and not managing routine administrative matters only. In recognising the potential of school administrative personnel to provide relief and support for the administrative role of principals, the Western Cape Government initiated a training course in July, 2008 for school business administrators. The course was modelled on a very successful training course developed in the United Kingdom.

Key words: School bursars, school evaluation, school business management, school administration.