Challenges of implementing policies with reference to the Policy on the South african Standard for Principalship

The study explored the challenges faced by principals in implementing policies with a focus on the Policy on the South African Standard for Principalship. The implementation of policies globally and in South Africa has experienced a high rate of failure. The problem is that in many organisations' implementing policies, policy implementers are not concerned with challenges that employees face when implementing policies. This lack of focus on challenges has often resulted in policy implementation failure. This article focuses on the perceptions of principals regarding challenges they encounter in implementing policies using a qualitative approach. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with fifteen principals from schools in Mopani East district, Limpopo province, and used a qualitative inductive analysis. The study revealed that principals encounter challenges that are both systemic DBE-based (Department of Basic Education) and school-based. The study recommends that the Department of Basic Education should focus on mediating the challenges using effective strategies to enhance the chances of policy success.