ADEA Triennale: Effective school leadership is cornerstone of quality education – Apaak 

Deputy Education Minister Dr. Clement Apaak has called for a renewed focus on Afrocentric values in shaping school leadership and teacher development across Africa.

Speaking at the 2025 ADEA Triennale side event on School Leadership and Teacher Professional Development, Dr. Apaak said the continent’s education systems must cultivate leaders who promote moral values, cultural identity, and holistic development in learners.

“Effective school leadership is the cornerstone of quality education,” he stated. “Without appropriate and effective leadership in our schools, districts, and policy levels, no investment in educational transformation can achieve the intended goal.”

He quoted former GIMPA Rector Professor Stephen Addai, who famously said, “Leadership is the cause, all others are effects,” to emphasize that educational reforms depend largely on the quality of school leadership.

Dr. Apaak stressed that Africa’s future depends not only on intellectual growth but also on the moral and emotional development of young people.

“We need transformed school leaders who will ensure that schools in Africa provide education that develops the mind, the hand, and the heart,” he said.

Referencing the 2011 Jakarta Declaration, he reminded participants that “if wealth is lost, nothing is lost; if health is lost, something is lost; but if character is lost, everything is lost.”

The Deputy Minister cautioned against ignoring African cultural values in the face of rapid technological change, particularly the rise of artificial intelligence.

“As we reimagine school leadership within the era of Artificial Intelligence, let us not downplay African values, particularly those linked to Ubuntu that bind us together as one people,” he urged.

He further encouraged reflection on how language shapes leadership philosophy.

“At the centre of Afrocentric values is language. Let us interrogate how the African meaning of the word instruction aligns with Western expressions like instructional leadership,” he said.

Dr. Apaak called for collaboration in building a new generation of leaders “who will drive educational excellence, promote cultural relevance, and foster sustainable development without compromising African identity.”