Abstract:

Education a crucial domain of life indispensable for long-lasting development. Government and schools in Uganda have made a great effort to develop the education sector in Uganda. Employment is scarce. Students who get jobs seems not be full prepared for them. Society and especially business owners have identified graduates to be half baked failing to meet job expectations. Despite their effort, available opportunities and potentials are not yet fully explored. Besides that, there are also challenges that leaders of Schools face in their day-to-day operations which hinder them to fully lead higher Institutions of Learning (HILs) to the fulfillment of their missions and visions. Alongside those challenges, opportunities and potential do exist. The research paradigm of the study was pragmatic leadership theory that leads to self-reliance indispensable for transformational development. The aim of the research was to use this theory to develop another theory. This could help address issues of unemployment because of the poor quality of graduates upon completion of their studies. The population of the study were leaders of HILs that are accredited and in operation in the Eastern Region of Uganda for at least five years. The sampling technique was purposive and convenient in nature. The research method was qualitative. The instruments used were In-depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Interview and moderator guides were used. Data collected were categorized and data were analyzed and classified; opportunities, potentials as well as challenges were reported. A new theory was developed and areas for further studies proposed.

Keywords: School Leadership, Higher Institution of Learning, Leadership opportunity, Leadership Potential, Leadership Challenge, Integral Development, Total transformation.

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