When Abraham Lincoln was a young politician, he once provoked an opponent to tears by using his expert communication skills to mimic and ridicule his rival. Soon after the man who would later become the 16th President of the United States of America felt disappointed and ashamed of his own behavior and sought out his opponent to offer an apology. Abraham Lincoln took this as a valuable lesson about channeling his emotions, practicing empathy, and using his abilities to promote good. From then onwards the former US President applied his superb leadership and communication skills to serve the higher interests of the people of his country than his own interests and ego.
People can clearly see the leadership in Abraham Lincoln, but in the ongoing era of leadership crises many are having hard times to see it in current political, business, military, religious and educational leaders. Yet there are good leaders working in every organization, in fact, quality leadership is all around us in all the facets of our lives like family, schools, communities, social clubs and volunteer organizations. Without good leadership our institutions and society would fall apart.
Here more than the theory I would like to be practical and let me introduce the leader who has impressed me and many people in the department of school education through his working style and quality leadership traits and he is Mr Mohammad Afroz Baba, Principal Government Higher Secondary School Kullar Pahalgam, Anantang (J&K). He is the leader who actually knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
In the department of school education, Mr Mohammad Afroz Baba is a reputed and decorated name. He has proved himself in each and every assignment. He was a resourceful teacher when he served the department as a master from 1991 to 2004. He is a trained school leader who has attended the different capacity building programs and workshops on school leadership like the workshop on ‘Ethical Issues in Administration’ at IMPARD Srinagar, Workshops on ‘School Leadership’ at SIE Srinagar, and Wadoodra Gujarat (OASIS Movement). With huge experience of almost two decades, he has a distinction of being an experienced system leader with all the skills to manage the peace and conflict within the organizations.
Mr Afroze has been the school leader since 2004 and has served in the reputed institutions of the district Anantang namely Government High School Katsoo, Government Higher Secondary School Pahalgam and Government Higher Secondary School Kullar. Mr Mohammad Afroz Baba has acted as a system leader like ZEO Aishmuqam, DPC member of multiple districts of the valley, and has handled the critical assignments like transfers in the department, head of verification teams, enquiry officer and many more with utmost integrity, sincerity, honesty and professional way.
I have worked under the leadership of Mr Mohammad Afroz Baba at the Government Higher Secondary School Kullar Pahalgam for almost four years. For me Baba Sir is the second name to the simplicity, honesty and dedication. He is the selfless soul, leader with highest moral and ethical standards and the well wisher of the student community. Yes some may call him the terror or the khalnayak but they are the one who are hardly bothered to the punctuality, careless in the approach, unwanted in their behavior and may have the tendency to shun the critical school assignments.
In all the places where Baba Sir served as a Head of the Institution, he literally improved academic standards, the work culture, the discipline and the infrastructure. He possesses all the leadership abilities and qualities to change the course in the desired way and to achieve excellence.
In order to uplift the educational landscape of the area, at HSS Kullar, he kick started many unique initiatives like:
- Door to door sensitization of the parents of socially and educationally disadvantaged sections (SEDGs) about the importance of education most importantly of the girl child.
- Door to door campaign to monitor and assess the effectiveness of online mode of teaching during COVID-19 times.
- Democratization of education by conducting the Student Sabhas within the school Campus.
- Open class assessment tests to evaluate the students through all the possible means.
- OMR sheet based reasoning and apptitude tests.
- Subject quiz with advance well defined syllabus to evaluate both the teachers and students in terms of delivery performance and the required learning outcomes.
- He is perhaps the only school leader in the district Anantang who started the professional learning communities (PLCs) in 2019 at HSS Kullar. In these meetings there used to be a weekly lecture for the enhancement of competences of the entire staff with regard to different aspects of schooling.
Baba Sir is always there to lead from the front. He is perfect in punctuality. He remains there with the students in the morning assembly. He prays with the students. He is there to deliver the inspirational lecture and he himself takes care of all the segments of the assembly. After the assembly he regularly checks the attendance of the students as well as the teachers schedules the arrangement register at the time of exigencies and when necessary attend the class with all the intent and dedication. He is there to check all the codal formalities with regard to the admission, examination and establishment. In his institution no student or staff member from peon to senior mostly faculty member suffers unnecessary administrative delay or red tapism. He is there to serve and he practically serves with all humility, capacity and capability to the needy.
At HSS Kullar, Baba Sir created the sense of belonging among all the stake holders. The students, the staff, the parents and the SMDC were all one in their aim and objective and strong in their intent and ownership with regard to the institution. Under his leadership the school has a distinction to register certain landmark achievements like to be the UT level champion of ‘World Wildlife Wisdom Challenge’ and to be among the first three in first ever TDX Talk show. More than this under the able leadership the school has developed a tradition to celebrate the important days with all vigor and valor be in gender, environmental, social or any other in nature.
Now the leader Mr. Mohammad Afroz Baba is going leave the department as he is attaining the superannuation on 31st January 2023, I do not know what it means to him but his absence in the department will definitely create a big vacuum and for all of us it will be a system but without the leader and the vacuum is hard to get filled. He was never an ordinary individual in the department but an extraordinary leader with a mission. The mission to improve the work culture and uplift the standards of basic constituents like learning outcomes, discipline, moral and ethical values, teaching, innovative pedagogies and the handholding of the poor, destitute and to those who had none to look after.
Sir you are the one along with other school leaders like Mohammad Amine Lone, Mohammad Hussain Manda, Ali Mohammad Bhat, Shafiq Ahmad Khaki, Abdul Hameed Rather and Ajaz Ahmad Khan who have introduced us to the department of school education and taught us how to work, how to teach, how to speak, how to write, even how to dress and most importantly how to behave and act in different situations and at critical junctures. We owe a lot to you. Let me salute you, your simplicity, your honesty, your integrity, your dedication, your determination, your resilience and all the traits and qualities which you possess and are numberless. Thank you for being in the department and the services your august self rendered in the most profession way.
The HSS Kullar staff, students, the community and all those who worked with you at places from Kupwara, to Budgam to Anantang will miss you and your aura, your leadership and most importantly human relation management.
(Masood Ali Mir is Sr Academic Officer SCERT and can be mailed at: [email protected] )
