Lucknow, March 24 : The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) will train principals of government secondary schools in Uttar Pradesh. It is aimed at coaching principals in building leadership competencies, empowering them and instilling local accountability towards their respective schools. The training will begin from March 27 in the presence of basic education Minister Sandeep Singh. The training is part of an agreement between IIM-L and Samagra Shiksha and will include topics such as counselling for academic excellence and happiness, besides issues in teacher development. Director General, school education, Vijay Kiran Anand said, "The government is working on upgrading infrastructure and academic interventions in all public schools, but unless principals provide effective leadership there would be governance failure. Hence, we have partnered with IIM-Lucknow to develop such skills to motivate and empower them." School principals have a challenging leadership role and need continuous training and platform for exchange of ideas and practices, said officials. "This training, which focuses on multiple roles and responsibilities, will provide space to examine issues faced by most principals and facilitate evolving a tactical response for a better future adaptability of schools," said IIM-L spokesperson. "We are looking forward to learning new things at IIM. The session will teach us how to generate the capability of good leadership, which we can use in our school," said a principal. According to officials, the development of school principals is of great importance because effective educational leadership is vital in bringing about improvements in those activities that foster the provision of education and student learning. Till now, less emphasis had been placed on the principals' role as decision makers and as educational leaders in the enhancement of improvement and quality learning. The principal is a bridge between the teachers, the children and the community, making the role extremely critical for the functioning of the school, said the officials. /IANS