School leadership has major resonance in students’ accomplishments and is key to develop the educational system, as discussed during a three-day forum for principals in the Kingdom.

The conference, titled “School Leadership — Future Visions,” brought together more than 500 heads of school administrations from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. It was organized by the Ministry of Education and the King Abdullah Project for Development of General Education (Tatweer) under the supervision of Boys and Girls Departments of Education.

Hamad Al-Asheikh, deputy minister of education for boys, praised the figure of the school principal during his speech, as the motor that runs the education system.

“School principals are a key pillar to strengthen the educational institution by taking control of the school staff, raising the level of their performance, thus achieving the determined objectives, and reaching long term goals,” Al-Asheikh said.

During the forum, experts assessed ways to implement the role of the school principal, as he is primarily responsible for the progress of all school work and the center’s educational plans and programs.

Abdul-Rahman Al-Barrak, undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, who also chaired the forum’s committee, said the conference was aimed at enabling heads of educational centers to look at other teaching experiences and learn the most successful international, regional and local practices in the field.

During his elocution, Al-Barrak added that 32 local and international experts will present work papers and participate in panel discussions at the forum. As part of the three-day event, different regional schools will present their successful experiences dealing with the development of school leadership, national values, school calendar, and leadership excellence, among other topics. More than 20 workshops will also be arranged on the sidelines of the forum to encourage assistants to mingle and learn from other educational centers’ experiences.