How to become a school principal
Official title: School principal
Also called: Junior college principal, Primary school principal, School vice principal, Secondary school principal, Primary school principal, School vice principal, Secondary school principal
School principal plans, directs, coordinates and evaluates the educational and administrative aspects of education and training services, primary and secondary schools, colleges and faculties and departments in universities and other educational/training institutions. He/she provides overall leadership in various areas of the school including professional development, school administration and operations to ensure the provision of a holistic education for students.
Main tasks
- Determining educational and training programmes based on frameworks established by education authorities and governing bodies
- Implementing systems and procedures to monitor school/institutional performance and student enrolments
- Directing administrative and clerical activities concerning student admissions and educational services
- Providing leadership and guidance to teaching, academic and administrative staff as well as to student
- Evaluating the work of teachers, lecturers and trainers by visiting classrooms, observing teaching methods, reviewing instructional objectives and examining learning materials
- Promoting the educational/training programme and representing the service or institution in the wider community
- Supervising the maintenance of educational/training facilities
- Developing and enforcing a disciplinary code to create a safe and conducive environment for students and teachers/trainers
Ways in
- University: Education & Teaching degrees, Offered by 3 universities in Singapore
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $83,604 a year. The middle half earn $69,060 to $106,236 a year.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a school principal?
Ways in include: Education & Teaching degrees.
How much does a school principal earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $83,604 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $69,060 to $106,236.
Will AI change the work of a school principal?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026