Since SAFE Association is the highest authority that administers all its member schools. It has many responsibilities that are directly or indirectly in the advantage of all the schools under the Association.
These responsibilities include:
1. Coordination:
The association coordinates school activities and works on strengthening the coordination between the Association and the schools. Similarly, it smooths the coordination among the schools.
The Association is also in charge of strengthening the relations it has with other Associations, National and International Organizations, the existing administrations and various parts of society. It has also the mandate of establishing new relations with other entities.
2. Supervision:
Every activity that is being collectively accomplished needs an entity that supervises it and makes sure that it was executed as planned. SAFE makes continuous supervisions on schools under the Association, to monitor if the educational goals of the Association were achieved; and to check if the schools are run smoothly by their administrations.
The Association Makes Four Types of Supervisions:
a) Educational Supervision: This supervision is based on verifying that teachers have fulfilled their responsibilities of teaching students and to make sure that lessons were taught to students as planned.
b) Schools Supervision: this kind of supervision focuses on examining school environment by checking every school’s hygiene and sanitation, physical situation of the school and classes. The aim of this supervision is to make sure that the environment is appropriate for learning.
c) Exams Supervision: This supervision is for exam activities starting from its preparation to making sure exams are taken according to the plans. It is generally about issues related to exams. After these supervisions, detailed reports are prepared highlighting the results of the supervision. The report mainly focuses on the achievements, obstacles and setbacks. Subsequently, the Association holds debates and trainings for school principals and teachers to correct what went wrong.
d) Membership Supervision: This supervision focuses on membership criteria.
3. Trainings:
To upgrade educational and administrational quality of the principals and teachers from association’s schools, SAFE organizes trainings for all the principals and teachers.
These trainings held by the Association mainly target three groups that are very important for good administration, quality education and cooperation between the students and the administration. These groups are the principals, teachers and student committees.
4. Unifying the Curriculum:
Following SAFE’s policy for a unified curriculum, the Association is also committed to unifying the curriculum of all the schools under the association.
5. Setting Leaving Certificate exams:
The Association is responsible for setting, preparing, taking, supervising and marking leaving certificate exams for high school and primary schools. From 2000/2001 academic year onwards, the Association has regularly been taking centralized leaving certificate exams for all intermediate schools under the Association.
6. Issuing Certificates:
The association prepares graduation certificates for primary and high schools. This activity is carried out by SAFE’S exam committee who already had exam results for all the students graduated from SAFE’s schools.
7. Organizing Extra Curricular Activities:
he Association organizes, plans schedules and then encourages schools to hold competitions and other extra curricula activates for students. These competitions include sports, arts etc.
8. Building and Equipping Schools:
SAFE, while respecting the right for the student to get a transfer, has put in place a system and set of rules to be followed. Among the conditions for the student to get a transfer are the following:
• The student should have a series record of education
• The student must have completed a certain academic year (if there are no compelling reasons for the student to transfer without completing the academic year).
• The student should get a transfer letter from his school and bring it to SAFE’s education office for verification and approval.
9. Making Transfers for Students within Schools Under the Association:
Following SAFE’s policy for a unified curriculum, the Association is also committed to unifying the curriculum of all the schools under the association.
10. Checking Learning Record of the Student Sitting for High School Leaving certificate Exams:
To make sure that the student starting the fourth grade of high school is the right one, the Association examines learning record of the student by evaluating his exam results for prior grades. If the student has a convincing record, he will be allowed to proceed to grade four. This great task is carried out by the administration committee of the Association with the help of school principals and they finally announce the names and exact number of students that are eligible to proceed to fourth grade.
11. Consultation for School Principals:
One of the responsibilities of SAFE officials is improving the capability of the Associations’ school administrations and for this to happen, they regularly contact school principals and help them with their daily activities. They also help them solve problems and give advices to them on every move towards improving the quality of school administrations.
Since SAFE brings hundreds of schools together, it has put much pressure on developing a unified system used by these schools. One of the successful goals that have been achieved by the Association is to make one academic year for all member schools. SAFE considered this step as one taken towards getting a unified system approved by all member schools.
The Association has made special and timely education policy and decided for the academic year to begin on the 1st day of August and end on 25th day of May.
The unified academic school year has allowed the Association:
• To bring together the different member schools’ curriculum
• To draw a unified curriculum from the collected different ones
• To reach up the availability of one specific time to sit for the exams of the Association
• Finding the chance of issuing unified school certificates with serial numbers.