I am not at all a die hard fan of the English Premier League football craze. In fact I used to love those times when my students would insist that I tell them the team I support and my answer would simply be, ATRACO FC! Of course this often left the whole class disappointed by the fact that their teacher was not ‘cool’ enough.

Nevertheless, I still keep an eye on the football scene just like I do for all other major global news making topics. For instance, I am aware that January is when the transfer window opens allowing clubs to buy players to reinforce their teams.

Dissatisfied players also use this time to look for greener pastures with new clubs.

Now since, the opening of the school term was pushed to February; we can comfortably say that our education system is currently in some sort of a transfer widow period. And schools, teachers and students ought to use it wisely. 
We can equate our schools to the different football clubs with the students taking the position similar to footballers on demand. Parents and guardians of these students may be equated to the football agents that lobby for their players.

The moment results for the 2009 national examinations are released; students with high marks will head to the better schools that they listed as their preferred choices before they sat for their examinations.

This is similar to the way good players move to clubs like Barcelona Real Madrid, Manchester, Arsenal or Chelsea.

Schools at the lower pecking will have to make do with those students who did not perform so well. These can be compared to those clubs like Wigan or Portsmouth who are known for signing older players. 

My advice to the head teachers is that they must be careful with the documents presented by students intending to join their schools.

Some students are in the habit of forging academic documents especially if they have a bad disciplinary or academic history.

It may be smart for you to call the authorities of the school the student says he came from so as to authenticate the information on these documents.

The tip I have for students is that they should endeavour to do all this school searching early enough so that they can start school in time with their colleagues.

It is not smart for one to be searching for a new school at a time when others are already in class. The time for all that is now or as soon as the results are released.

On the other hand, schools may be required to reinforce their staff just before the school term begins. Again just like in the football transfer window, a school may have to find replacements for teachers who may have left for further studies, those who moved to other schools or even those who may quit the profession.

School authorities should not wait for the term to begin. A wise headmaster must be having the contacts of all his teachers and he should use this time to confirm with those who intend to be back this year.

To improve on the competitiveness of the team, a school head may go looking out for more qualified teachers who will be expected to positively influence of the schools’ academic performance.

Just like in football, the big schools may lure well performing teachers in some schools to join them for better salaries. Most teachers cannot resist such offers. 

With the EAC now in full gear, a school can shop for the best teachers from within the region. This can be done by running job announcements in both local and regional press.

All said and done, school heads, teachers, and students all need to sort out their issues before the school term begins. When the transfer window closes, it will be time for serious business from 1st February 2010.

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