Managing School Finance for Better Learning Outcomes in Secondary Schools
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The major objective of this study is to investigate managing school finance for better learning outcomes in Lagos state secondary schools.
Other specific objectives include:
- To find out the source of finance in Lagos state secondary school.
- To identify the procedures of budget preparation by schools in Lagos State for better learning outcome
- To find out the factors hindering financial management in the schools for better learning outcome
- To establish how funds are managed by the school in Lagos State for better learning outcome.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The review of related literature will discuss under the following subheadings;
- Conceptual framework
- Empirical framework
- Theoretical framework and the summary of the reviewed literature
Conceptual framework
Concept of Finance
Finance is a discipline that deals with money and how it is generated, invested and sustained in an establishment. Finance is a branch of economics concerned with resource allocation as well as resource management, acquisition and investment. Finance deals with matters related to money and the markets. (Wikipedia, 2009) According to Campbell (2004), finance is a discipline concerned with determining value and making decisions. The finance function allocates resources, including the acquiring, investing and managing of resources. This definition implies that finance is an embodiment of facts, principles and theories concerned with the raising and using of funds by individual, business firms, educational institutions and government.
Concept of Management
Management could be defined as the judicious use of resources to avoid wastage and to achieve institutional objectives. Management is the act and manner of handling, controlling and directing the affairs of a group. (Webster‟s Dictionary, 2008) Management is defined as the organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives. Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines, materials, and money. (Wikipedia, 2009). As a discipline, management comprises of the inter-locking functions of formulating corporate-policy and organizing, planning controlling, and directing the firm’s resources to achieve the policy’s objectives. The size of management can range from one person in a small firm to hundreds or thousands of managers in multinational companies. (Wikipedia, 2009)
Concept of School Finance
Educational institution like other organization requires money for their survival. The success or failure of any educational institution depends greatly on the availability of funds. According to Udo and Akpa (2001:117) “the financing of education as popular opinion has it, is the true domain of the economist workout how much it will cost and how much money is to be raised”. This is to say that the particular way in which education is financed largely determines who will be educated and what fashion. Secondary schools in Nigeria rely on certain sources for their financial support. According to Akpakwu (1996) a school is an organization of its own, therefore human, financial and material resources are to be harnessed fort eh purposes of achieving its objectives. However, it has become abundantly clear that government sources alone cannot meet the country’s educational requirements due to the drop in oil price and the rapid changing society. It has become necessary to exploit other sources for generating school funds as well as embark on the cost saving devices to be followed by prudent management.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter took the following procedures in the research. It is organized under the following subheadings: Design of the study, Area of the study, population of the study, sampling and sampling techniques, instrument for data collection, validation of the instrument, reliability of the instrument, method of data collection, and method of data analysis.
Design of the Study
The design of this study was descriptive survey; this seeks to establish the opinion of the administrative staff of secondary schools in Lagos state on sources of fund generation, budget preparation, disbursement of funds and how funds are accounted for. Ali (2006:296) defined survey as “a study which seeks or uses the sampled data of an investigation to document, describe and explain what is existent or non-existent on the present status of an event being investigated”. The purpose of selecting this study design is because it is the most relevant design that could help the researcher in the study.
Survey research is widely employed in the study of significant educational problems and has obviously had profound influences on the field of education as much as other social science discipline.
Area of the Study
The research was carried out in all government financed secondary schools in Lagos State. The state comprises 37 LGA namely. These include; Agarawu/Obadina, Anikantamo, Eiyekole, Epetedo, Idumota/Oke, Iduntafa, Ilupesi, Isale-agbede, Lafiaji/Ebute, Oju-oto, Oko-awo, Oko-faji, Olosun, Olowogbowo/Elegbata, Olushi/Kakawa, Oluwole, Onikan, Popo-Aguda, and Sandgrouse. Lagos Mainland. Lagos State (Yoruba: Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin Republic, Lagos State borders Ogun State to the east and north making it the only Nigerian state to border only one other state. Named for the city of Lagos the most populous city in Africa the state was formed from the Western Region and the former Federal Capital Territory on 27 May 1967.
Population of the Study
The population of the study comprises all principals of government financed secondary schools in Lagos state. The population of secondary school principal was about six hundred and twenty four (624). This will later be categorized as follows. Three hundred and twelve (312) principals of Junior school and three hundred and twelve (312) principals of senior secondary school.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
This Chapter presents and describes the results of this study according to the research questions and hypotheses of the study.
Research Question 1
What are the sources of funding secondary schools in Lagos State?
Data collected in respect of the above research questions was analyzed descriptively and the findings reported.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
This chapter includes a discussion of the findings of this study, implication, conclusion, recommendations, limitation and suggestions for further research study.
Discussion of Findings
Specifically, the discussion was organized using the following sub-headings. Sources of funds
- Procedure of budget preparation
- Factors hindering financial management
- How funds are managed in secondary schools
Sources of Funds
The findings of the study on sources of funds for secondary school indicate that secondary school principals in Lagos State make several efforts to raise funds for their schools. They collect government grant, levies from students, school fees, liaise with the PTA to attract donations for school projects, request for funds from the host community members. This finding agrees with Enyi (2001) that principals raise funds through several sources. However, the over-reliance on school fees and government grant as found in this study is a threat to the management of secondary school education in Lagos State. This is because it could easily lead to extortion of money from students and parents. Besides, secondary education is supposed to be free under the universal Basic Education Programme in Nigeria (Obanya 2002). With collection of levies, how free then is education? There is also the possibility that the money accruable from the levies and sales of products might be used for personal gratification and not for the development of the schools
Procedure of Budget Preparation
On the procedure of budget preparation the opinion of the respondents shows that stock taking and market survey is made before the budget preparation. Confirming the above finding San-Luis (2007) who found that school heads minimize expenditure and income generation in the Philippines. One would expect school principals to use the funds generated in line with the school annual budget and of the federal and state government of Nigeria for budget implementation.
Factors Hindering Financial Management
The major finding on factors hindering financial management practices by secondary school principals indicates the views of the respondents as low funds generation. The present finding does not augur well for the management of secondary school in Lagos State. With this trend private sector partnership is limited in Lagos State secondary schools. The finding negates the recommendation by UNDP (2006) that an effective strategy for sustainable development of secondary school should involve the private sector. Without visiting the private sector to solicit for funds, the potentialities of private sector are yet to be optimally harnessed for managing secondary schools.
How Funds are Managed in Secondary Schools
It was discovered through the findings of the study that strict adherence to budget plans is how funds can be managed effectively in secondary schools in Lagos State. However, demanding for adherence to budget plans is one thing, but scrutinizing the efficacy and prudence of income and expenditures is another thing. It is in line with this Akpa (2008) revealed that in ensuring accountability in financial management, principal’s should regularly crosscheck and monitor school accounts, insist on collection of receipts of purchases from staff, keep ledger accounts of all maintenance costs such as flooring and electricity bills. All these practices are commendable and would minimize the incidence of financial mismanagement in secondary schools in Lagos State.
Ofougwuka (2005) found in some cases that money is used for school improvement and the percentage actually utilized is never made public because no questions are asked. This trend has continued over the years, making for poor accountability. Without adequate accountability in schools, the extent of development in secondary school might be limited. The finding on the hypothesis indicated that there is no significant difference between the mean ratings of principals of senior and principals of junior on how funds are managed in secondary schools in Lagos state
Conclusion
The quality of education made accessible for the public would depend largely on the pattern of resource management in our schools. This implies that there is a direct relationship between the quality of instructional facilities provided and the managerial practices employed by school administrators. The problem of shortage of qualified teachers and lack of instructional facilities do not exclusively rest on funding as often depicted, rather the problems are made complex due to poor management. Education is a collective responsibility of all stake-holders. Therefore the school principal is expected to complement governments‟ effort by diversifying their income bases and utilizing the available funds judiciously for the attainment of their organizational goals.
Moreover, a situation where school principals do not employ accountability in their financial management practices implies a hazardous condition in such schools. One can therefore conclude that principals in Benue State should perform their financial management duties in a manner satisfactory enough to enhance sustainable development of secondary schools. Hence, secondary school principals should seek for innovative practices such as training in ICT, accounting, internal auditing, prompt disbursement of funds,
Recommendation
- Secondary school principals should harness the potential of multsectorial partnerships (companies, banks, P.T.A, organizations associations, and industries)
- Principals should explore and maximize other supplementary sources of funds and limit reliance on school levies.
- The PTA should continue to liaise with principals to manage school funds but should report cases of illegal expenditure to appropriate authority.
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