ABOUT US

The National Centre for School Leadership (NCSL) was set up in the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration in 2012 under the aegis of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India. Since its inception, the Centre has been engaged primarily in four core functions: curriculum framework and material development, capacity development, networking and institution building and research and development. For the first time in India, the National Centre for School Leadership conceptualized and formulated the National Programme Design and Curriculum Framework on School Leadership Development, the guiding document for the work carried out by the Centre (2015, 2014). The programme on school leadership development initially started with building capacities of School heads and educational administrators through face-to- face programmes; gradually expanding its outreach with online programmes in School Leadership and Management. Over the years, the Centre has developed materials, handbooks and resource books for conducting various types of capacity building programmes for different clientele groups spanning both current and prospective school leaders and educational administrators.

The Centre built inroads into States/UTs with the purpose of institutionalizing the programme in the existing government education institute of the country. The journey began by formalizing and building leadership capacities of State Resource Groups in every State/UT of this country. Further, the programme was crystallized in to School Leadership Academies, established in SCERTs/SIEMATs functioning as the extended arms of NCSL. At present there are 29 School Leadership Academies established across India, making this flagship programme of the Ministry of Education, as a Nation-wide initiative, in letter and spirit. The Centre has recognized decades long research on school leadership highlighting the importance of both the school leader and leadership practices in school improvement and school effectiveness. These programmes have aimed to build leadership capacities of school leaders, educational administrators and other stakeholders associated with the school for the purpose of school improvement and transformation. The central idea of these programmes revolves around research evidence that school leaders indeed make a significant impact on school improvement and student learning.

NCSL’s current engagement and research areas revolve around the priority area of recent research in the field of school leadership, both international and national; and the National Education Policy 2020. Further, the Centre has also developed a Perspective Plan 2030 in alignment with the mandate of NIEPA. NCSL/NIEPA serves as a national level repository of knowledge and practitioner-centric materials, a cutting-edge research and analysis wing of DoSEL, making strides in leadership and governance of school education system in India, with a key emphasis on strengthening ties of school education with higher education. The Centre has over the past 12 years of its existence, contributed significantly to strengthening the school education ecosystem, aligning with the provisions of NEP 2020. The Centre has contributed to the policy making space in school education sector, working in close collaboration with the Department of School education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India.

In light of the mandate of NCSL/NIEPA and the newly defined priorities outlined in the National Education Policy 2020, the NCSL linked with several important responsibilities. The Centre is actively collaborating with Central Ministries, National and State level organizations, Universities for developing cutting edge materials for continuous professional development of functionaries of school ecosystem in India. Furthermore, the Centre is undertaking research, capacity development programmes, development of various academic programmes for budding researchers, current and prospective school leaders and educational administrators, planning and administration of school ecosystem, providing policy support to the Ministry of Education and other policy-making bodies at both National and State/UT level.