The problems that plagues the school system are so numerous that those who are within the educational system are so overwhelmed not to talk of outsiders who are poised to ask such a pertinent question like "are the principals leading the schools well?". This paper examined the quality valuation among the male and female principals in their choice of leadership styles. The principals, the teachers and the student were all required to make their contributions to ascertain what style of leadership that is commonly adopted by the male on the one hand and the female principals on the other. The analysed data shows that the female principals qualitatively involve the democratic style of leadership than the men. The female principals also involve their staff in decision-making than does the male counterpart, the male principals, who adopted the democratic and the autocratic styles of leadership are quicker at the management of crises in schools than the female principals.

The deteriorating economic environment over the last decade, due in part to declining commodity prices and oil price and exchange rate fluctuations, has shrunk national budgets. Simultaneously, high levels of demographic growth rates have swollen the ranks of the university-age population. Pressures to expand higher education at all levels persist. However, additional public resources for the sector are not likely to become available in the near future. A very critical challenge in an environment of rising demand and declining resources is the proper management of staff basically in the context of motivation.

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