MANAGING SCHOOL FINANCE FOR BETTER LEARNING OUTCOMES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

The study ascertained managing school finance for better learning outcome in secondary schools. Four research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study employed a survey research design. The population was not sampled due to the manageable size hence 624 principals of government grant aided secondary schools were used. A forty seven item questionnaire was administered on 312 junior principals and 312 senior principals respectively. Mean rating and standard deviation were used to answer the four research questions while t-test statistics was used to test the two null hypotheses. The test of the two null hypotheses showed that there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of junior and senior secondary school principals on sources of funds for secondary schools, and there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of senior and junior secondary school principals on how funds are managed in secondary schools in Lagos State The findings of study revealed that principals explore other sources of funds such as P.T.A. levies, funds from school farms, magazines, speech and prize giving day, and canteens. Money raised from these sources is included in school budget therefore such funds are accounted for. Budgetary plans are made in collaboration with heads of department but not strictly adhered to in terms of implementation. Furthermore, the findings showed that there were several factors militating against financial management such as ghost workers, untimely disbursement of funds, lack of ICT training in the bursary department and neglect of internal auditing.

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Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

In secondary school, principal is the executive head of a secondary school. He is responsible for coordinating all school activities ranging from student enrolment, planning of the school time table, keeping of school records like the class registers, log book, visitors book, updating his staff with information from the ministry of education, instructing the students, making budgetary and fiscal plans, sourcing for fund to run the school and managing the funds made available to run the school with the aim of realizing educational goals and objectives

One of the responsibilities of the secondary school principal is financial management. The principal is expected to source for funds for running of the school, he is expected to expand the sources of the school income from school magazines, school workshops, school canteens, students arts and crafts, school poultry and farms rather than over dependence on government grants. Beyond sourcing for funds the principal has the responsibility of managing the available cash in the school to avoid waste and displacement of priorities in attending to school needs

Management of school finance involves how to source for fund, increase the fund, invest it and account for the fund used in fixing up programmes and projects of a school. The main purpose of finance management in an organization is sourcing for fund and ensuring that the sourced fund is put into efficient and effective use. This is quite important due to the availability of scarce resources in other for optimal usage of those resources (Ogbonnaya, 2000). A study that was carried out in Uganda showed that just a small percentage of the fund allocated to the education sector was properly utilized, in fact, it was about 13% that was allocated to the education sector (Hallak and Poisson, 2001). The implication of mismanagement of fund is that it will increase the cost of some fees in the school; efficiency will not be achieved coupled with conflicts in decision making. Of which secondary schools in Lagos state suffer from these. Mismanagement of education funds affects the quality and availability of education (Poisson, 2001).

Principals of secondary schools in Lagos State depend on school fees as a source of generating fund for the school. Other sources of funds include government’s monthly or quarterly subvention and P.T.A. levies. Irrespective of all the sources of funds available to secondary school principals, some school activities and programmes are not being handled effectively because of lack of adequate funds. Insufficient funds hinder the provision of infrastructural facilities, laboratory equipments, computers, power plants, audio-visual aids and stationeries among other facilities that enhances the operation of the school. Lack of these facilities frustrates school programmes and ultimately aborts educational goals and objectives. Osuala (2007) opined that the financing of education is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders. The school principal is expected to complement government’s effort by diversifying their income basis and utilizing the available funds judiciously for the attainment of educational goals

However, a school’s finance that has been misappropriated leaves the school with an unequipped library, science lab, dilapidated structures, and poorly remunerated teachers; which adversely leaves the students with nothing but a poor performance in their academics now and after. A research carried out by UNESCO proves that there is a very strong relationship between the quality of education and the proper utilization of the funds on the performance of a student (UNESCO, 2005).

Managing of funds in Lagos state secondary schools will help provide facilities that will aid teaching and learning in schools, consequently the academic performance of students. This is because with learning facilities on ground the skills of the students will be discovered and polished to achieve success and even scientific ideas. When these facilities are provided, it will be beyond what the teacher said in class (theory) to what they can see and practice with (Ajayi and Akinwumiju, 1990). The quality and availability of teaching/learning materials depend on the amount of money spent on acquiring them. It has been discovered from different authors that the quality of education largely depends on the management of school finance. The added that the proper management of these resources lead to proper harnessing of physical, material and human resources required to achieve quality education (Adeogun ,2001; Oni,1995; Aghenta, 1999; Sodimu,1998).

The possible factors that could lead to the mismanagement of funds are delay in the release of funds, uneven distribution of limited resources, poor orientation of the school administrators on the management of funds, unmerited appointment of school administrators by politicians, poor record of funds by the school bursary department and non-payment of teachers’ salaries. school finance is meant for the day to day running of the school, therefore, it is pertinent for the school heads to map out the budget of the school early enough in order to know the amount left in the school treasury and how much is needed to carry out programmes/projects of the school.

Consequently, it has been observed that some head teachers or principals in Lagos state secondary schools mismanage funds not because of poor planning and budgeting, but through embezzlement. The necessary supervisory bodies in Lagos state have not paid attention to this problem and it is affecting the growth of education in the state.

All the different stages of education in Nigeria has its objectives it is meant to achieve, like the secondary schools objectives are to equip Nigerian youths to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country and preparedness for higher education (FRN, 2004). The truth still remains that funds are needed to actualize these objectives.

It is therefore clear that the outcomes from students in Lagos state secondary schools is quite discouraging due to mismanagement of school finance; and that is why this study is conducted to support the proper managing of school finance for better learning outcomes in Lagos state secondary schools.

1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The present state of some secondary schools in Lagos State is quite deplorable, most books in the library are obsolete, there are out-dated equipments in the laboratories, and school buildings are yearning for renovation. It seems all these could be attributed to poor financial management practices by principals in Lagos State. There are speculations and accusations that some principals lack the capability of developing other sources of funding the school, while others lack requisite training in financial management in terms of budget preparation, fund disbursement, financial record keeping, auditing and accountability. The Executive Secretary of the Teaching Service Board hard in a meeting with secondary school principals indicted them of apparent lack of capability in developing other sources of funds.

The financial management practices of secondary school principals in Lagos State has attracted criticism from parents and the general public and need to be reviewed. This study, therefore intends to investigate the managing school finance for better learning outcomes in secondary schools in Lagos State

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1.3   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:

a)   To find out the source of finance in Lagos state secondary school.

b)   To identify the procedures of budget preparation by schools in Lagos State for better learning outcome

c)   To find out the factors hindering financial management in the schools for better learning outcome

d)   To establish how funds are managed by the school in Lagos State for better learning outcome.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions are formulated to guide the study;

1. What are the sources of funding secondary schools in Lagos State?
2. What are the procedures of budget preparation in secondary schools in Lagos State?
3. What are the factors hindering financial management in the schools?
4. How are funds managed by secondary schools in Lagos State?

1.5   RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 

The following research hypotheses are formulated to guide the study

HO₁: There will be no significant difference between the mean rating of junior and senior school on the source of funding secondary schools in Lagos State.

HO₂:    There will be no significant difference between the mean ratings of junior and senior school on the financial management practices of secondary schools in Lagos State

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is meant to inform, educate, and enlighten general public, school management and the government on managing school finance for better learning outcomes.

It is meant to inform school administrators that it is very pertinent to properly utilize finance allocated to secondary schools to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the education sector.

To the government it is meant to remind them that they should request for an account on how every spent on education is utilized by school administrators, in other not to give room for corruption in the education sector.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this topic and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other work or study.

1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study will covers managing school finance for better learning outcome in secondary schools. The study will be limited to secondary schools in Lagos state.

Limitations of study

1.        Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

2.        Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9   DEFINITION OF TERMS

MANAGING: This refers to having executive control or authority; being economical.

SCHOOL FINANCE: This is the money provided by a government or raised by parents and teachers to finance the running of a school.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Are statements that describe significant and essential learning that learners have achieved, and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course or program. In other words, learning outcomes identify what the learner will know and be able to do by the end of a course or program.

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