Empowerment means encouraging and allowing individuals to take personal responsibility for improving the way they do their jobs and contribute to the organization’s goals. It is synonymously being related to collaborative decisions making the principal as multi-purpose tool for school improvement and effectiveness.

            Principal empowerment is technically defined as the authority given to the school administrators in discharging management functions. Empowerment here denotes that the principal may be empowered through the following strategies: 1.  Allowing him to handle their school MOOE; 2. Modifying the particular DepEd order to allow him to engage in fund-generation schemes through the PTA; 3. Allowing him to buy their own supplies and instructional materials; 4. Giving him the option to select and to hire groups that can provide the needed in service training to teachers; 5. Giving him the prerogative to avail of the type of training programs they need for personal and professional advancement and 6. Disseminating regular updates on different in-service training programs available for teachers.And also recent DepEd issuances. In the principal empowerment program, the empowered principal is obliged to infuse systematic change in managing the school and the people in them, including the non-human or material resources. Apparently, DepEd authorities believe that with such empowerment, principals will take a more active role in the development and implementation of appropriate reform initiatives at their own level and context.

By: Gina A. Torres | Teacher II | Sto. Niño Biaan Elementary School | Mariveles, Bataan