Principals who fail to perform should be quaking in their boots after the North West education department demoted three of their colleagues this week.

Principals who fail to perform should be quaking in their boots after the North West education department demoted three of their colleagues this week.

The move was long overdue, though we reserve judgment in this particular case.

For too long uninspired teachers and principals have gotten away with brazen laziness and rank ineptitude.

Their attitude goes a long way to explain why our school system performs so poorly, but institutionalised mediocrity in our schools is not the only problem.

Administrators who long ago would have been fired in the private sector must also shoulder a great deal of the blame for our failing schools.

Even the most dedicated teachers cannot be expected to function without the support of the whole educational system.

Year after year we hear of schools that lack textbooks, notebooks and other basic necessities way into the academic year. Feeding services and transport are cancelled too often because some buffoon has not signed a cheque.

So let's hope that the bureaucrats soon turn the spotlight on themselves and cleanse their own ranks of non-performers.

We cannot fail yet another generation of pupils because bumbling bums lack the gumption and dedication to do their jobs properly.