Principals will be able to employ business managers to look after the day-to-day running of schools after new research revealed they spend too much time on administration and organising repairs and not enough time on improving teaching and learning.

The NSW education minister Rob Stokes will on Monday announce a new leadership strategy for public school principals which will include training school leaders as well as providing funding for them to focus on curriculum planning, student progress, teaching quality, and student wellbeing.

Principals spend too much time on admin and too little time on improving learning, a new study says. Credit:Quentin Jones

It comes as new research, commissioned by the NSW Department of Education, found that principals spend 40 per cent of their time managing their school and almost three-quarters said their current workload was "not at all achievable".

Consultants Deloitte surveyed principals at 119 NSW public schools in term two this year, with most reporting that it is difficult to fulfil their roles as educational leaders because they spend a large proportion of their time on administration