Minister congratulates education leaders of the future

The first of a new generation of school leaders will get a helping hand from a new professional development programme, Minister of Education Chris Carter announced today.

Chris Carter said 180 candidates had been selected to take part in the National Aspiring Principals pilot programme in 2008.

"Great leaders make great schools, so it's vital that we make sure the leaders of schools in years to come are given support and training.

"The aim of this pilot is to determine the best approaches to developing principals who are not only effective leaders of teaching, but also effective managers."

The pilot programme takes aspiring principals through written, online and group work on self-development, leading learning and change management, among other aspects.

Candidates are from around New Zealand and will undertake their training through six universities nationwide. The Government is investing $1.4 million in the pilot project.