Abstract
The study investigated school principals’ role in policy implementation during the political upheaval that took place from March 2021 to March 2022 in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The political upheaval disturbed school operations as schools were closed for over six months. The study employed the case study paradigm within the qualitative research approach. Data were collected through the use of semi-structured interviews. Five principals were purposively selected from five high schools in the Hhohho region, Eswatini. The schools that were chosen were those affected by the protests. The study revealed that school principals faced challenges with policy implementation. The findings revealed that the principals were unaware of policy implementation and recommended that the school principals must be trained on policy implementation so that school stakeholders: teachers, parents, learners and the school committees should work together to have a good ground for implementing school policies.
Key Words: Policy, Implementation, Principals, Political upheaval.