ROLE OF TRANSPARENCY IN

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
DHONA P. CATANYAG
 TRANSPARENCY
• as used in the humanities and in a social
context more generally, implies openness,
communication, and accountability. It is a
metaphorical extension of the meaning a
"transparent" object is one that can be seen
through. Transparent procedures include
open meetings, financial disclosure
statements, freedom of information
legislation, budgetary review, audits, etc.
• The Department of Education (DepEd) of the
Philippines is a very strong advocate of freedom
of information, and is active in promoting
transparency and accountability. This Policy
Forum is a great venue to craft strategies and
efforts that will help advance the quality of
education, with inputs coming from a strategic
mix of people who are devoted to education
and really know what they are talking about.“

-DepEd Secretary H.E Leonor Briones

• National Budget Circular 542, issued by the
Department of Budget and Management on August
29, 2012, reiterates compliance with Section 93 of the
General Appropriations Act of FY2012. Section 93 is the
Transparency Seal provision, to wit:
• Sec. 93. Transparency Seal. To enhance transparency and
enforce accountability, all national government agencies
shall maintain a transparency seal on their official websites.
The transparency seal shall contain the following
information: (i) the agency’s mandates and functions,
names of its officials with their position and designation, and
contact information; (ii) annual reports, as required under
National Budget Circular Nos. 507 and 507-A dated January
31, 2007 and June 12, 2007, respectively, for the last three
(3) years; (iii) their respective approved budgets and
corresponding targets immediately upon approval of this
Act; (iv) major programs and projects categorized in
accordance with the five key results areas under E.O. No.
43, s. 2011; (v) the program/projects beneficiaries as
identified in the applicable special provisions; (vi) status of
implementation and program/project evaluation and/or
assessment reports; and (vii) annual procurement plan,
contracts awarded and the name of
contractors/suppliers/consultants.
• The respective heads of the agencies shall be
responsible for ensuring compliance with this
section.
A Transparency Seal, prominently displayed on the
main page of the website of a particular government
agency, is a certificate that it has complied with the
requirements of Section 93. This Seal links to a page
within the agency’s website which contains an index
of downloadable items of each of the above-
mentioned documents.
 SYMBOLISM
• A pearl buried inside a tightly-shut shell is practically
worthless. Government information is a pearl, meant to
be shared with the public in order to maximize its
inherent value.
• The Transparency Seal, depicted by a pearl shining out
of an open shell, is a symbol of a policy shift towards
openness in access to government information. On the
one hand, it hopes to inspire Filipinos in the civil service to
be more open to citizen engagement; on the other, to
invite the Filipino citizenry to exercise their right to
participate in governance. This initiative is envisioned as
a step in the right direction towards solidifying the
position of the Philippines as the Pearl of the Orient – a
shining example for democratic virtue in the region.
WHAT IS A TRANSPARENCY BOARD

• Board with information on important school projects

and achievement
• Visible to the whole community
• Jointly created by principals, teachers, parents,
pupils & community
• representative
 WHAT DO WE SEE ON THE
TRANSPARENCY BOARD?
• Message of success: the status of projects in your
school
• Information that allows the community to see and
know what is happening in the school
• Information on how interested people can support
the management and education at your school
• The responsible stakeholders with whom
communities can engage for exchange of views
(principal, Barangay Council, PTA)
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
WHO IS INVOLVED?
 WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
• tool to show transparency and build trust
• foster participation and cooperation among
stakeholders of the school
• school directors, teachers, pupils and the whole
community can
• showcase accomplishment of projects undertaken
by the school
• Acknowledge efforts undertaken by different
stakeholders
• Give good examples and encourage others
 WHO CAN USE THE SCHOOL
TRANSPARENCY BOARD?
DepED officials
Instrument for school management to improve
communication with parents, communities and other
stakeholders
Principal and Teachers
a platform to engage and induce creativity of
parents and other stakeholders and thus increase the
support for the school
 WHO CAN USE THE SCHOOL
TRANSPARENCY BOARD?
Parents and Students
better informed of what’s going on in the school
a space to communicate and express their
views on issues in their school.
Community
space for dialogue and social audit
encourages community members to provide
more support to the schools while at the same time
provides important information to discuss the needs
of the school with the local government.
Information about resource mobilization
• A school is an institution where
transparency and accountability go
hand-in-hand and are held as
statutory obligations, and the
transparency in school administration
shouldn’t be taken lightly. If a school is
transparent, people can be held
accountable for their actions.
In a proper school environment,
• schools are accountable for student achievements
and conduct.
• teachers are held accountable for learning.
• the students are accountable for one another

In General, if accountability is rigorously practiced, it

will help change attitudes which will improve
academics.
 WHY SHOULD WE HAVE
TRANSPARENCY IN SCHOOLS?
• Schools collect data on students including their
medical records, academic scores, and character
traits and are expected to share data to keep
parents in the know on matters of their child’s
academic and social well-being.
• School management should all be aware of
expenditure in order to prevent leakages in their
financials.
• Teachers should share their resources and ideas
with each other, seek answers to teaching
problems and encourage innovation. This kind of
transparent collaboration will improve teaching.
 WHY SHOULD WE HAVE
TRANSPARENCY IN SCHOOLS?

• However, the majority of the work rests on schools,

and to encourage successful administration, a
transparent system must be adopted. A school
management system will provide accurate details
about financing, academics, students and staff
behavior so your administration efforts can be
diverted to the most sensitive areas.
 WHY SHOULD WE HAVE
TRANSPARENCY IN SCHOOLS?

• Transparency is a famous topic today, governments

in Nigeria have preached the necessities of
transparency and shunning corruption. We see this
trend being adopted by schools to showcase
school budgets, decision making procedures and
other realities that provide a solid answer to such
questions as where the majority of the budget is
being directed to & what percentages of students
are failing each year.
WAYS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY
IN SCHOOLS

: making information available

and easily accessible shows parents exactly what
goes on in the classroom, so they are kept updated
on all the relevant information about their child.
WAYS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY
IN SCHOOLS

high teaching standards is the

number one factor responsible for the enrolment of
children into schools. Skills gap analysis should be
conducted to find out what areas need to be
improved. With skill gap analysis, the current level of
staff expertise are measured against the required
skill for tasks and with those statistics, schools can
find ways to improve quality of teaching.
WAYS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY
IN SCHOOLS

this may seem to be detrimental

to profit however it ensures quality over the long
term. This is because you can easily monitor their
individual progress and identify their areas of
weakness. They will likely perform better and
increase the school’s standards.
WAYS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY
IN SCHOOLS

Apart from the traditional invigilation

and punishment for offenders, the school
management would have to continuously inform
students on the ills of malpractice and the
importance of transparency.
• Technology plays a huge role in encouraging
transparency in schools. Software can be used in
place of printing student report cards, records
compilation, accounts, admission forms and session
calendar. It will reduce loss of information due to
damage of printed documents and soft copies of
files are easily backed up and accessed from any
computer.
• That is why it is important to have educational
technology in schools. It facilitates transparency in
school administration and creates an environment
where parents can closely monitor their child’s
performance, teachers can collaborate more
efficiently and leakages in school finances can be
prevented.