Financial Management in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya a Case Study of Lurambi Sub County...

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 4, ISSUE 09, SEPTEMBER 2015 ISSN 2277-8616

168IJSTR©2015www.ijstr.org

must not only comply with the spending plan but also showevidence of the expenditure. School principals need to beconversant with financial accounting procedures. They mayuse the services of accountants, bursars and accountsclerks. However, they are the accounting officers in chargeand society demands financial information from them.Ziebelle et al (1991) points out how interested groupsusually want information that will provide answers to two

important questions. These are:(i) What is the financial health of the organization at a

given point in time?(ii) How well did the organization perform over a given

period of time?

Principals should be in a position to answer these twoquestions.

RESEARCH PROBLEMThere has been a rapid rise in expenditure since the 1970’swhen the strategy of cost sharing was introduced in thecountry. Parents and local communities have been payingschool fees for their children and, in addition, have taken a

bigger share in capital expenditure. With the setting up ofthe Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs), parents havehad to raise more money for school development fund,purchase of text books, school buses and computers,Bogonko (1992). The principal must take care of the manytasks involved in the management of expenditures basedon the revenue secured. The government audit departmentshould also keep track of the financial performance of theschools according to Waihenya (2002). This will help bringdown the financial impropriety caused by most schoolprincipals. Macharia (2002) confirmed that the auditdepartment has been having difficulties in keeping track ofthe financial performance of schools as bursars decline toforward trial balances. Waihenya (2002) in his article

‘’Queries over move to audit schools’’ reveals a presidentialdecree, presented by the Director of Education (Wangai), inJanuary 2002 for a countrywide examination of themanagement of finances in public primary and secondaryschools. According to Wangai, 10 percent of publicsecondary schools were facing financial impropriety andtherefore there was need for government auditing. In 2002,it was revealed that there was a backlog of 5,292 of publicschools audited of which 1043 are from Western Kenya inwhich Lurambi Sub-county of Kakamega County fall.Macharia (2002) observed that the audit department haddifficulties in keeping track with the financial performance ofschools because bursars declined to forward financialrecords for scrutiny. Due to this, parents have complained

of financial mismanagement. Musvosvi(1998) felt thatsociety has vested interest in education and they must beassured that they are spending their money on a worthycause. The demand for greater accountability in publicsecondary schools has challenged the control of suchschools and therefore this prompted the researcher to carryout an investigation into the knowledge, skills and attitudesrequired by principals of public secondary schools inLurambi Sub-county of Kakamega County for effectivefinancial management. Alphonse et al (1981) reveal that thegap between the ideal and the actual behaviour ofsupervisors come about because supervisors frequently arenot in possession of the technical competencies necessary

to carry out their assigned responsibilities and action theiprofessional commitment.

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCHLiterature reveals a study carried out by the World Bank(2001) which indicated that budget allocation may notmatter when institutions or their popular control is weakFinance is a major constraint facing Kenya in the provision

of education. The minister felt that the Ministry of Educationshould review priorities and ensure that available resourcesare utilized in the most economical way. With economysuch resources will be carefully and sparingly used and thiswill help principals to avoid any over-expenditure in schoolsThis can only work if proper budget preparation, supervisionand control are embraced by those in charge of runningthese. This research study was carried out:

(i) To find out whether principals of publicsecondary schools identify and mobilizefinancial resources for their institutions.

(ii) To find out whether principals draw up budgetsfor their schools according to priorities of theschool needs.

(iii)

To find out whether supervision, monitoringand control of the budget is carried out byprincipals of public secondary schools.

RESEARCH QUESTIONSThis study was purported to answer the following questionsGeneral Research Question What knowledge, skills andattitudes are required by principals of public secondaryschools for effective financial management?Specific Research Questions

(i) Do principals identify and mobilize financiaresources for their schools?

(ii) Do principals draw up budgets for their schoolsaccording to priorities of their needs?

(iii)

Do principals of public secondary schoolsmonitor and control expenditure as per thebudget?

JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDYThere are problems in schools over the management ofunds. Parents have been kept in the dark over how muchmoney has been received and spent in the schools. In factparents have complained of financial mismanagementAringo (1987) reveals that a good number of audit reportsindicate that books of accounts are not properly kept insome schools. Such circumstances normally leave room formanipulation by unscrupulous persons who have access toschool funds and therefore there is need to find out ways oensuring efficient and effective financial management inpublic secondary schools.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYThis research was carried out to establish the knowledgeskills and attitudes needed by principals of public secondaryschools for effective financial management in schools inLurambi Sub-county of Kakamega County. The findings othis research may be used by:

(i) Principals of public secondary schools toimprove on their budget preparationmonitoring and control considering the widerange of departmental activities including line





activities e.g timetable subject allocation toteachers and non-line activities e.g feedingprogram, boarding and co-curricular activities.This is where plans produced are linked to thebudget using technical know-how.

(ii) Education officers (Audit Section) as astepping-stone to improve on their financialmonitoring and control skills especially in

comparing the budget and the actualexpenditure by principals of public secondaryschools.

(iii) Board of governors of public secondaryschools to improve on their financialmanagement decision making techniques andhelp improve on the overall schoolperformance.

(iv) The government on improving or fixing properfinancial monitoring and control systems inpublic secondary schools to ensure that theseschools offer quality services to the citizens.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Financial management is a very important aspect ofmanagement in any organization because it embraces allaccounting techniques that will help provide informationdesigned to assist management in planning and controllingthe activities of the organization. According to Aringo(1987), education administrators need to be regularlyinformed of any new management techniques and changesthat will make the program worthwhile. As the Minister ofEducation, he felt that principals need to update thetechniques of planning, organizing, controlling and directinghuman, financial and material resources for the goals set.Financial management requires that there be accountabilityby those in management. The World Bank (2001) in itsworld development report suggested that there is need to

improve public management systems to make programsmore efficient and accountable. To ensure a steadyprogress toward a fully responsive and accountablemanagement, the civil society must be involved in planning,monitoring and evaluating public programs and policies. Astudy of the World Bank (2001) indicated that budgetallocation may not matter when institutions or their popularcontrol is weak. Between 1991 and 1995 on average lessthan 30 percent of the intended non-salary public spendingon primary education reached schools. This is alsoreflective of secondary education. Provision of educationpoints towards finance as the major constraint facing Kenyaas Aringo (1987) feels like any other developing country,Kenya continues to experience shortage of resources that

are required to meet the national development needs. TheMinister felt that the Ministry of Education should review itspriorities and ensure that available resources are utilized inthe most economical way. Resources being scarce ascompared to the numerous wants and needs, any misuse ofthese resources will normally bring about wastage. Witheconomy, resources will be carefully and sparingly usedand any over-expenditure avouided. For example, a schoolshould repair the available equipment in school than buy anew one unless the equipment has become obsolete.However, should there be need to buy a given equipment, athorough survey of the market and negotiation of discount

should be done. The tender system should suffice in thiscase.

BudgetingManagers of secondary schools need to look aheadestablish priorities and plan the activities in the school. Ifthey do this, they will manage their money well. Clear longterm plans and priorities will bring about effective schoo

financial management. It is unlikely that a school has morefunds available than it needs. It is therefore important thaclear priorities of spending the limited funds be drawn. Themanagers should not implement plans that are unaffordableand which will drive them into straining parents. Thedevelopment plans drawn should have direct impact on theimprovement of education standards. Macharia (2002points out that it is wrong for schools to strain parents byinitiating costly projects like the purchase of buses that hadno direct impact on the improvement of educationstandards. He feels that it is high time the principalsprioritized the schools’ needs by implementing developmenplans that are less taxing on the parents and at the sametime enhance learning. Plans need to have long term

objectives. The managers need to carry out the majoanalysis of the school’s current performance and the schoosituation to determine future needs. A SWOT analysis wilhelp make things straightforward, practical and as such lesstime consuming. In the SWOT analysis, the managers needto know the strengths and weaknesses of the school andconsider the opportunities and threats likely to arise infuture for the school. Fiddler (1989) feels such analysisneeds to consider the schools environment, internaresources and organizational culture (values, attitudesrelationships, styles, politics etc) as well as the school’sperformance and outcomes. With such planning andanalysis, a proper budget will be put in place. It is thisbudget that will act as a management tool for planning

implementing and evaluating. With a budget in place, oneimportant function will be fulfilled, that is provision of asystem of control. This is because Guthrie et al (1988) seesbudgets to be representing the financial crystallization of anorganization’s intentions. He feels that it is throughbudgeting that a school can decide to allocate resources soas to achieve organizational goals. For a budget to operate, it must be acceptable to those who use it, that is, it mustbe discussed and agreed upon by the implementers. Ziebelet al (1991) feel that, to develop a realistic budgetmanagement must predetermine the decision rules andorganizational structure that will be used during actuaoperations. This means that at the time of budgetpreparation, there must be a concurrent knowledge of the

decision rules to be employed. Besides this, Campbe(1996) indicates that it is important that people within theschool system be involved in the budget building. Thismeans that teachers will have a real voice in suggestingwhat is necessary by way of working conditions, equipmentsupplies, books and other items to make instruction mosteffective. This also means that support staff who cleanfloors, repair buildings, or do other tasks will also have avoice in suggesting what is needed to do these jobsefficiently. All of these suggestions may not be acceptedbut they should be considered. This will bring in maximumdelegation as Coopers and Lybrand (1987) feel that theunderlying philosophy of financial delegation to schools





stems from the application of the principles of goodmanagement. Good management requires the identificationof management units for which objectives can be set andresources allocated; the unit is then required to manageitself within those resources in a way which seeks toachieve the objectives; the performance of the unit ismonitored and the unit is held to account for itsperformance and for its use of funds. There should not be

maximum delegation to the school but also within theschool, that is, from the principal to departments, classteachers and other employees of the school. Suchdelegation of responsibilities should appear within anappropriate framework. Budget holders should not requireauthorization from a higher level except for specifiedexceptions. They should not be unduly restricted byregulations and they should be free to switch expenditurefrom one vote head to another. Budget holders should knowthat they should be clearly accountable. If there are anyrestrictions on their scope of action, for instance amaximum amount for a given expenditure or for virementwithout need for additional authority, it should be clearlyspelt out. Expenditures should be clearly authorized by the

person in charge and be traced to the authorized budget.

PlanningGood planning provides a good starting point for financialmanagement. Knight (1993) gives four approaches toplanning:

Approach 1 is the rational approach in which themanagement process follows a cycle, thus:

Chart 1Analysis Goals Objectives

Evaluation Plans

Monitoring Implementation Resources

Approach 2 is the pragmatic approach which she tries toattain the objectives set in small steps depending on theneed that has cropped up. This has been the mostpopularly used method by principals or head teachers insecondary schools because it is flexible and builds onexisting strengths and tries to tear down the weaknesses. Itmainly concentrates on short term planning. Approach 3 isthe entrepreneurial approach in which the managers planconsidering the opportunities available and the resources

available to exploit such opportunities. For example,opening up doors to the community to access computerfacilities in the school or supplying water to the communityusing the school water pump will help the school raisefunds for other uses and this will help publicize the schoolextensively and create more opportunities to be exploited.Approach 4 is the lateral approach in which future goals areidentified and ways identified which can lead to theachievement of these goals. With planning, therefore, aschool may choose any of these approaches depending onthe situation in which they are. Wallace (1991) suggeststhat it is more profitable to consider flexible planning as adialectical process where planning activity varies between

relatively extensive planning exercises specifying actionwell into the future and rapid informal planning activity inresponse to unanticipated events. Some approaches maybe combined to come up with excellent planning.

Plans and the School Budget The management may produce plans for the school. Theseplans may be useless unless they are linked to the budget

Linking plans to the budget is not easy. It needs sometechnical know-how. This is due to a number of reasonsthe first reason being time. Plans require a long time to beworked out while the budget may take only 12 months. Weshould note that since a plan is spread over a number oyears, we have to break it down into long-term, medium-term and short-term plans. The short-term plan covers 0-1years and this plan is normally operational since it coversmostly the current school years. Only the operationaplanning needs to be linked to the budget. The long-termand medium-term planning needs to be fixed in the budgetas forecasts. The school managers need to understand thadevelopment plans which may have short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies should be seen as something

that roles forward, that is, once the short-term (0-1 yearplan which is current has been worked on, the next stepwould be medium-term and finally the long-term plan as theyears roll on. Secondly, different elements of the schooshould be considered when linking the plans to the budgetA school plan may have various elements which need to becombined in order to achieve the goals set. For instance, aschool plan may have the curriculum plan, plan fodevelopment of building and public relations plan. Thesevarious elements in the plan need to be combinedappropriately to achieve the set goals. Thirdly, the schoomanagers should consider problems that arise withdevelopment and/or maintenance. A school’s developmenplan can only work if the budget also grows to

accommodate it, that is, there must be seen to be additionafunding to cater for the development plan. This is becauseany development requires funds and, in future, even morefunds will be required for maintenance. Fourthly, managersshould consider the fact that funds (resources) are limitedand that they must consider priorities when selecting theneeds and wants to be fulfilled. It is unlikely that a schoohas more funds available than it needs. It is thereforeimportant for the school to plan basing on priorities ospending the limited funds. Spinks (1991) outlined priorityestablishment in a school as follows

Category 1: Critical areas of learning requiringimmediate change and development tocurriculum.

Category 2: Important areas of learning but noimmediate change and development required.Category 3: Desired areas of learning if, inclusionswithin the resource cap is possible.

Lastly, managers should link plans and priorities to studentoutcomes with not only inputs in mind but should also relatethe plans and priorities to outputs. We should be able tofind out how financial inputs should be able to bring outappropriate results (outputs). While planning is good, it is aprocess that requires a lot of time as Wood (1986) feels thaplanning is often a little more than an elaborate, symbolic





exercise, robbing important person hours from otherprojects and resulting in only illusions of achievement.

Budget Administration for Monitoring andControlBudgets should not be produced and then be forgotten.Budgets are there to be used to monitor the actualperformance of the school organization, and to take action

where necessary. Ziebel et al (1991) says it is necessarythat the budget translates the programs, program elements,objectives and performance norms into quantitative terms,testing before operations begin, the financial feasibility ofthe planned activities. Monitoring compares actualexpenditure against estimated expenditure. Monitoring canalso be used for income, capital or project expenditure.Budget information needs to be reported regularly tointernal budget holders. Monitoring expenditure should bedone regularly through budgetary tabulations as shown inthe table below:

Item Total Budget Expected to dateActual to date Variance

Telephone 2,000 800600 -200Postage 2,000 8001,000 200

Even with good planning, a monitoring process remainsmandatory. Minder (1999) stressed that monthly board

meetings should include a review of financial statementsFinancial reports may vary, but should cover expenditureappropriations, income and cash flow. The board shouldknow what has been spent, how the current year compareswith the previous one, what account receivables areoutstanding and are out of harmony with board policy oncollections, and how much funding remains.Accurate financial record keeping is necessary for every

school to function effectively. The records outline thefinancial transactions of the school and form the basis uponwhich sound financial decisions can be made. Keeping arecord of financial transactions also allows the board ofgovernors to trace individual items and to identify what wasspent for what purpose and by whom as well as the sourceof the money used for the expenditure. This allows forproper control of the funds flow in the school.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This study is based on four components of the school whichare financial resources, human and physical resourcestime utilization and learning process. The independenvariable, which is the input of financial resources is received

from different sources and converted into human andphysical resources (intervening variables) by the budgemechanism and converted into ‘‘resource hours’(dependent variable) and finally the arrangement of thesethree components to give feedback and this is theeducational process.

MODEL





CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKEffective financial management relies on three importantconcepts which form the basis of this study. These areeconomy, efficiency and effectiveness. Economy refers to acareful use of resources and therefore avoiding expenditurethat goes above a stipulated minimum mainly budgeted for.Economizing resources and especially financial resourcesis necessary because needs and wants are so numerous

while the resources are limited. Economy is, in effect, themanagement of resources so as to make them go as far aspossible towards the fulfillment of needs and wantseffectively. Management starts with the setting of goals tobe achieved at some future date. What needs to be done toachieve the set goals and the means of attaining them, aswell as the manner of attainment, constitutes economicplanning. To economize requires a comparison of inputsand outputs. Such comparison brings in the issue ofquantification that is so central in economics. Economizing

resources should go hand in hand with the concept ofoptimizing returns. Efficiency refers to a way of attainingmaximum benefit in order to achieve the goals andobjectives set. Economy and efficiency go hand in handOne cannot economize resources without consideringwhether there is efficiency. A balance between the must beestablished. Effectiveness refers to the attainment of thegoals and objectives of the school. Whatever activities are

programmed in school must be cost effective. Principals ofschools need the skill of costing as they manage theirfinances. This is important more so when schools have tohandle new projects and/or changes in the curriculum. Themanager must, before engaging in a given project, makesure that whatever project they enter into is cost effectiveand that each project is roped in according to priorityTherefore, economy, efficiency and effectiveness if carefullycombined in their rightful proportion can increaseproductivity and reduce costs.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research DesignThe research design used was descriptive survey design.Descriptive survey design helped establish and describethe knowledge, skills and attitudes principals of publicsecondary schools require to be able to perform their workeffectively. Frankel and Wallen (1999) point out that surveyis helpful in establishing the existing conditions of aphenomenon. This design suits studies that aim atdescribing a given situation at a given moment in time.Survey method was used to unearth the performance of

principals in financial management in public secondaryschools.

Area of StudyThe study was carried out in public secondary schools inLurambi Sub-county of Kakamega County, coveringLurambi and Municipality. Statistics from the Sub-CountyEducation office for the year 2001 revealed that there wereseventeen (17) public secondary schools with five (5) publicsecondary schools in municipality and twelve (12) inLurambi. The main economic activities are farming withconcentration on growing sugarcane, maize, beans andhorticultural crops, and small scale trading.





Study PopulationThe target population for this study was made up ofprincipals of public secondary schools, the school bursars,heads of department (H.O.Ds) and finally therepresentatives of the various school boards of governors(B.O.Gs). The study population was drawn from seventeen(17) public secondary schools, thus seventeen (17)

principals, seventeen bursars (17), one hundred and thirtysix (136) heads of department (H.O.Ds) and seventeen (17)representatives of boards of governors. This gave a totalstudy population of one hundred and eighty seven (187)people.

Sample PopulationTwelve public secondary schools in Lurambi Sub-countywere purposively selected for the study in line with thestudy objectives mentioned earlier. The geographical areastudied was purposively selected after extensive field visitsand consultation with the Sub-county Education Officer andprincipals of the public secondary schools in the sub-county. The individuals that formed the study population

were selected using cluster sampling which narrowed thestudy to the schools in Lurambi Sub-county. The individualsthat formed the population sample were selected usingsimple random method within the clusters of principals,bursars, heads of departments and representatives ofboards of governors.Twelve principals, twelve bursars, twelve representatives ofboards of governors and ninety six heads of departmentwere randomly selected from public secondary schools inLurambi sub-county of Kakamega County.

Research InstrumentsThe following research instruments were used to collectdata:

Questionnaires: Three questionnaires wereconstructed to collect data from principals, bursars,heads of departments and representatives of boardof governors who are directly linked to themanagement and running of the public secondaryschools in Lurambi Sub-county of KakamegaCounty. The questionnaires contained itemscomposed of both open and closed endedquestions.

Interview schedule: Interviews were conducted on

selected principals and representatives of boardsof governors to establish in detail the problems offinancial management in public secondary schools.

The interview helped to clarify some responses onthe questionnaires and also gather information thatquestionnaires failed to capture from the variousrespondents.

Observation schedule: The researcher gathered

information through observation during visitationsto the selected public secondary schools.Observation helped to verify the responsesreceived through questionnaires and interviews.

To ensure the validity and reliability of the researchinstruments, questionnaires were piloted in two selectedpublic secondary schools. The pilot study helped to:

(i) Establish whether relevant data would becollected from the respondents of the selectedpublic secondary schools.

(ii) Identify problems likely to occur whenadministering the questionnaires to the variousrespondents.

(iii) Check whether the respondents understoodthe instructions on the questionnaires for the

different groups.

The reliability coefficient of the instruments was calculatedusing cronbach reliability test. The test showed that thequestionnaires to be administered to the principals, bursarsand the heads of departments were reliable, having analpha of above 0.6 as shown below:

Reliability of Instruments

No. ofcases

No. ofitems

Alpha

Principals’questionnaire

12 96 0.7123

Heads of dept.questionnaire

96 13 0.6126

Bursars’ questionnaire 12 62 0.6235

B.O.GRepresentatives

12 22 0.2048

The representatives of board of governors’ questionnairehad an alpha of 0.2048 which was low. The respondentswere not genuine in their responses on the items in thequestionnaire. The responses received on interviewing

them were different from the ones in the questionnaireTherefore, the responses from the interview were adoptedbecause they were reliable.

Research Data Analysis and discussionThe data gathered in this research was analyzed based onthe following objectives:

(i) To find out whether principals identify andmobilize financial resources for their schools.

(ii) To find out whether principals draw up budgetsfor their schools according to priorities of theschool needs.

(iii) To find out whether principals carry oumonitoring and control of the budget

1. Sources of funds – specific objectives variedamong the various respondents: the principalsheads of departments and bursars. The principalsidentified the sources of finance for their schoolsfrom the alternatives that were given as follows:

Sources of f inance for schools (Respondents- principals)

Principal

Government

Parents

Community

Students

Offeroffacilit

Others





s iesF % F % f % f % F % F %

Yes

10

83.3

12

100.0

2 16.7

6 50.0

2 16.7

6 50.0

No

2 1

6.7

0 0.

0

1

0

8

3.3

6 5

0.0

1

0

8

3.3

6 5

0.0

Total

12

100.0

12

100.0

12

100.0

12

100.0

12

100.0

12

100.0

The findings revealed that public secondary schools weregreatly funded by the government and parents. The headsof departments indicated that their departments generatedlittle revenue as shown: Generation of extra findings bydepartments (Respondents-HODs)

Heads ofdepartments

F %

Yes8 8.3

No.88 91.7

Total96 100.0

The departments therefore depended mostly on funds fromoutside the school to run, thus the government and parents.The bursars identified the important sources of finance fortheir schools as shown:

Sources of finance (Respon dents- Bursars)

Yes No Total

FeesF 12 0 12

% 100.0 0.0 100.0

P.T.A FundsF 12 0 12

% 100.0 0.0 100.0

Fund Raising F 9 3 12

% 75.0 25.0 100.0

Leasing of School AssetsF 2 10 12

% 16.7 83.3 100.0

Sale of Farm ProduceF 5 7 12

% 41.7 58.3 100.0

Government F 11 1 12

% 91.7 8.3 100.0

Other SourcesF 2 10 12

% 16.7 83.3 100.0

The findings from the bursars were that schools dependedhighly on funds from tuition, PTA, the government andfundraising.2. Budgeting and monitoring the Budget-The principalsagreed in total that all public secondary schools preparedannual budgets as shown:

Budget preparat ion for schools (Respondents-

principals)

PrincipalsF %

Yes12 100.0

No0 0.0

Total12 100.0

On budget preparation, the findings revealed that budgepreparation was carried out mostly by principals, bursarsand heads of department.

People involv ed in budget preparation (Respon dents-

Principals)

Yes No Total

BursarsF 10 2 12

% 83.3 16.7 100.0

TeachersF 6 6 12

% 50.0 50.0 100.0

Heads ofDepartments

F 80 16 96

% 83.3 16.7 100.0

Non-teachingStaff

F 5 7 12

% 41.7 58.3 100.0

Board ofGovernors

F 7 5 12

% 58.3 41.7 100.0

PrincipalsF 11 1 12

% 91.7 8.3 100.0





ParentsF 4 8 100.0

% 33.3 66.7 100.0

Monitoring and supervision of the school budget was doneby the principals and the board of governors

People invo lved in mon i tor ing and superv is ion of thebudget (Respon dents-Principals)

Yes No Total

PrincipalsF 10 2 12

% 83.3 16.7 100.0

Heads ofDepartments

F 16 80 96

% 16.7 83.3 100.0

Board ofGovernors

F 8 4 12

% 66.7 33.3 100.0

GovernmentF 3 9 12

% 25.0 75.0 100.0

TeachersF 0 12 12

% 0.0 100.0 100.0

The findings revealed that identification of programmes,

projects and activities to be accomplished within the budgetperiod was carried out by board of governors, teachers,principals, heads of departments and even parents. Thiswas found to be a healthy involvement because all thestakeholders had a say on what was to happen in theschool. People involved in Identification of Programmes,Projects and Activities to be accomplished during thebudget period (Respondents- Principals)

Yes No Total

Board ofGovernors

F 9 3 12

% 75.0 25.0 100.0

TeachersF 7 5 12

% 58.3 41.7 100.0

PrincipalsF 8 4 12

% 66.7 33.3 100.0

Heads ofDepartments

F 56 40 96

% 58.3 41.7 100.0

ParentsF 8 4 12

% 66.7 33.3 100.0

The findings on budget approval revealed that budgetapproval was mainly carried out by the board of governorsThe government, parents and H.O.Ds were minimally

involved.

People invo lved in the school budget approva

(Respondents-Principals)

Yes No

PrincipalsF 1 11 12

% 8.3 91.7 100.0

GovernmentF 3 9 12

% 25.0 75.0 100.0

Heads ofDepartment

F 0 96 96

% 0.0 100.0 100.0

Boards ofGovernors

F 11 1 12

% 91.7 8.3 100.0

ParentsF 2 10 12

% 16.7 83.3 100.0

The heads of departments were less involved in budgetpreparation although slightly above half were involved inidentification of programmes, projects and activities to beaccomplished within the budget period. This is as shownbelow: Involvement of H.O.Ds in budget preparation andidentification of programmes, projects and activities to beaccomplished within the budget period (RespondentsH.O.Ds)

Heads ofdepartment

Budgetpreparation

Identification oactivities

F % F %

Yes 36 37.5 51 53.1

No 60 62.5 45 46.9

Total 96 100.0 96 100.0

The findings on the role of B.O.Gs in budgeting revealedthat B.O.Gs were to establish policy, implement and controlB.O.Gs felt that monitoring of the school funds should beleft in the hands of principals while the principals were





divided on the issue with half of them feeling that the B.O.Gshould handle monitoring. This is as shown below:Role of B.O.Gs in budgeting

Establish policy

Implementation

Monitoring

Controlling

Principals

F % F % F % f %

Yes 7

58.3

758.3

650.0

975.0

No5

41.7

541.7

650.0

325.0

Total 12

100.0

12100.0

12100.0

12100.0

BOG

Yes 10

83.3

650.0

1 8.3 866.7

No2

16.7

650.0

1191.7

433.3

Total

12100.0

12100.0

12100.0

12100.0

Findings and Discussions

Table 1: Identification and mobilization of financialresources for schools

Respondents

Sources offunding Perceived causes

o limited funds

Principals

Public secondaryschools dependmostly ondelegated anddonated fundsfrom thegovernment andparents

Failure to developother sources offunding tosupplement thedelegated anddonated funds

Heads ofDepartments

The departmentsin their schoolsdepend mostly onp arents and thegovernment for

funding

Individualdepartments donot generatefunds for their

running

Bursars

Schools dependhighly on tuitionfees, P.T.A (paidin by parents,government andfrom fundraisings)

Failure tomobilize fundsfrom internalsources.

It was clear that schools have strained parents and thegovernment by failing to establish other ways of raising

funds. A study by Bogonko(1992) yielded similar findingsshowing that years have gone by and still there has beenno change. Parents are still shouldering the burden bypaying for tuition and capital expenditure through the P.T.Afund and the government shoulders the payment omanpower. Therefore the schools should move away fromcomplete dependence on parents and the government toself sustenance for certain school activities by engaging in

income generating activities. Table 2: Budgeting and preparation of the budget

Respondents Budget preparation

Perceived causesof poorbudget preparation

Principals

At least allpublicsecondaryschoolspreparedbudgets

Budgetpreparationwas mainlydone bytheprincipalsand

thebursars

Heads ofdepartmentare notinvolved

Failure to

involve theteachers

andancilliarystaff.

Failure toconsult thegovernment andparents

Heads ofDepartments

The

H.O.Dswere only

involvedwhen itcame torequisitions

H.O.Ds

were notinvolved inthe realbudget

preparationin respectto theirareas of

jurisdiction

Whereas budget preparation is an important activity, it isnecessary to involve all stakeholders to make it moreacceptable and realizable. Failure to involve stakeholderswill lead to deficiencies in the budget where some areas wilnot be catered for.

Table 3: Monitoring of the budget and budget approval

Respondents

Monitoring of thebudget

Perceived causes oimproper monitoringand supervision othe budget

Principals

Monitoringandsupervisionof the budgetwas done bythe principalsand board of

Failure to

involve thegovernment andH.O.Ds

Involvingthe




178

(vii) The administrators must be accountable to thegovernment, spending funds in accordancewith the spending plan.

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