Assessment of Needs and Capacity of District Office Professional Staff

The table shows job requirements by importance and frequency of application.
The most important job requirements are those that are of high importance
(checked 4 or 5) and are frequently applied (checked 4 or 5). The percentages
provided in the table reflect the percentage of 4s and 5s that were checked as
a proportion of the total number of responses to that specific item. This is
intended to provide a quick view of the items that were considered important
and those that were considered as less important.
Generally, all the responsibilities noted were considered to be important.
Those responsibilities that were considered by the overall sample as least
important, however, were:
� Coordination of distribution of stock to schools
� Providing professional support to learners when requested and support
initiatives for numeracy
The responsibilities that were considered to be of critical importance were:
� Providing guidance and assistance in learner assessment
� Providing guidance and support in learning area
� Providing effective classroom teaching and learning support
� Developing effective communication with schools
� Promotion of the COLT campaign
Most respondents agreed that promoting the National campaign of culture of
teaching, learning and service is of the highest priority.
The responses have distinguished between Subject Advisors and EDOs. More
evidence in this regard is presented.
Table 26 notes the assessment of responsibilities for each job class – CES,
EDO, Subject Advisor and Lecturer. Although there is overall agreement that
all job requirements are generally important, there are differences in
perceptions between the groups or job classes. Subject Advisors have
naturally chosen curriculum related job requirements as more critical, while
EDOs have chosen the management related responsibilities as most essential.
As a result, there is some differentiation of job requirements where EDOs have
given more importance to effective communication with schools and assisting
principals with the equitable deployment of staff. Subject Advisors, on the
other hand, have given priority to assisting principals with the organization of
exams, providing guidance and support on learning area and subject content
and facilitating curriculum development.
The pattern of responses has indicated that there is a general lack of clarity on
job requirements. As will be noted in Table 24, many of the staff, both EDOs
and Subject Advisors, identified a few job responsibilities that are generally
perceived to be critical, as less important.
78