--- title: "SA Principals Association president issues 5-step appeal to ease burnout pressure" description: "About 850 principals gathered in Limpopo to take stock of their challenges, with the president of the South African Principals Association calling on the government to reform systems to free up principals to do their job of leading schools." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "THE EDUCATION DESK" author: "Mandisa Makgakga" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/mandisa-makgakga/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-09-sa-principals-association-president-issues-5-step-appeal-to-ease-burnout-pressure/" published: "2026-09-09T10:09:32" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 787 --- # SA Principals Association president issues 5-step appeal to ease burnout pressure > About 850 principals gathered in Limpopo to take stock of their challenges, with the president of the South African Principals Association calling on the government to reform systems to free up principals to do their job of leading schools. By Mandisa Makgakga · Published 9 September 2026, 12:09 SAST ## Key points - At a national conference in Limpopo attended by about 850 principals, Sapa president Mashudu Ramulumo issued a five‑step plea for systemic reform so school leaders can stop firefighting admin crises and get back to leading classrooms — against a backdrop of a burnout survey that found nearly 60% of principals ready to quit. - He wants an end to repetitive information demands: capture school data electronically once and give departmental officials access, reducing duplicate reporting that steals principals’ time. - Sapa calls for practical relief — a department‑employed administrator in every school, urgent hiring to tackle teacher shortages and overcrowding, and timely release of norms-and-standards funding so principals aren’t forced to bankroll basics. - The association urges readiness for AI rather than bans: train and retrain principals and teachers, and fix rural connectivity so pupils and schools aren’t left behind. ## Content South African Principals Association (Sapa) president Mashudu Ramulumo has called on education departments to take pressure off school leaders, saying principals are increasingly being forced to carry responsibilities that should be handled elsewhere in the education system. Speaking to[The Education Desk](https://educationdesk.org/) at Sapa’s conference in Limpopo, Ramulumo said the association wanted provincial departments to build systems that allowed principals to focus on leading schools rather than constantly responding to administrative failures and crises. A major concern is the repeated demand for information from schools. Principals were often required to submit the same information to different sections of education departments, creating unnecessary duplicate work. More than 850 principals gathered for the national conference, where school leaders discussed the challenges facing principals and how schools should prepare for a changing education environment in the world of[artificial intelligence (AI).](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-07-28-the-ai-era-ban-is-over-sa-schools-must-embrace-the-leapfrog-generation/) [Read more South Africa’s schools are losing teachers faster than they can replace them July 20, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/w6BMwEXbUM61BXe79kOAau9kjro=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/ED_379307_571861.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-20-south-africas-schools-are-losing-teachers-faster-than-they-can-replace-them/) Ramulumo said Sapa would appreciate the departments urgently moving towards a system in which school information is captured electronically and can be accessed by the relevant officials without schools having to repeatedly provide the same data. He added that different directorates often required principals to provide identical information in different formats, taking them away from their main responsibility of managing teaching and learning. “Whichever department is looking for that information, they will get it from the department, not from us. Submissions will be made only once,” he said. He said the answer was to capture school information electronically so officials could access it without repeatedly returning to principals. “This meant clearer lines of responsibility between schools and provincial departments, better administrative systems and stronger support for principals facing increasingly complex demands. “For Sapa, reducing the pressure on principals is ultimately about allowing school leaders to do the job they were appointed to do: lead their schools.” His comment speaks to a[burnout survey](https://educationdesk.org/2026/08/07/call-to-act-over-60-principal-burnout-rate/) by the Governing Body Foundation that found that almost 60% of principals were ready to quit their jobs. The survey added that 92% of principals said their administrative workload was higher or much higher than five years ago, while 71% said administrative demands had a high or severe impact on their core duties. Second, Ramulumo wants every school to have an administrator or clerk employed by the department. He said principals were spending too much time on administrative work, while some schools were relying on parents to help pay for administrative staff. Third, he said Sapa wants staffing shortages and overcrowding addressed, saying principals cannot be expected to solve problems created by an inadequate supply of teachers and classrooms. ![Education, kid learning and training with AI, knowledge and technology concept. Robot hologram in graduation hat showing while child using digital tablet with finger touch on screen, homework school.](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/WF8LuY6kAPZ3gaCZuEyZ1YuLmBk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Principals-burnoutappeal1_935142.jpg) *Schools should prepare for a changing education environment in the world of artificial intelligence, the principals urged. (Photo: iStock)* Ramulumo said pupil-teacher ratios were fluctuating between one teacher for 35 pupils and one for 40, depending on the available funding. “Please give us, give principals, give schools more educators according to the learners,” he said, adding that infrastructure pressures compounded the problem, with overcrowding and other shortages landing on principals alongside their existing responsibilities. The association is concerned about staffing shortages, overcrowded classrooms and infrastructure challenges, which continue to place pressure on school leaders and teachers. “We have been singing the same song for years. This one seems like a big challenge for the department, but our school leaders deserve better classrooms that are not oversubscribed,” he said. [Read more Why half of South Africa’s teachers are ready to walk away May 1, 2025 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/b4EqTq-TL_LTXH2-vC1KDcZpE0s=/450x0/smart/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/MC-Oped-LisLange_4.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-01-why-half-of-south-africas-teachers-are-ready-to-walk-away/) Fourth, Ramulumo wants provincial departments to release norms and standards funding allocations on time to prevent principals from bankrolling schools while they wait for money. Delayed payments could leave schools struggling to pay for stationery, examinations, electricity and water, forcing principals to use their own credit cards or negotiate payment arrangements with suppliers. “When there is no stationery and there is no money a principal is forced to go out and make a plan,” he said. Fifth, Sapa wants schools and their leaders to be prepared for the rise of AI, and that banning it from the classroom was not a solution. The department needed to ensure teachers and principals were trained to use the technology, warning that in some cases pupils were already ahead of their teachers. “Make sure that every principal is able to navigate with AI, train and retrain until they are experts,” he said, adding: “Teach the children to use AI correctly rather than restricting it.” Ramulumo urged the government to tackle connectivity issues, which remained a major barrier, particularly in rural schools where some could not afford data or Wi-Fi. **DM** *This story was produced by*[*The Education Desk*](https://educationdesk.org/)*, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to addressing schooling challenges in South Africa.*