ABSTRACT
The study ascertained financial management practices of secondary school principals in Benue State. 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 Benue 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 are 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.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The 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.
What then is financial management? Financial management is the application of conventional principles in unwasteful spending of organizational funds with the aim of achieving institutional plans and aspirations. Pandey (1995) defines financial management as activity which is concerned with the planning and controlling of an organisation’s financial resources. According to Ogbonnaya (2005) financial management implies liability to be called upon to account for or answer for funds entrusted to one’s care.
Principals of secondary schools in Benue 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 hinders 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.
The problem of inadequate instructional facilities in secondary schools in Benue State do not exclusively rest on funding as often depicted, rather the problems are most likely made complex due to poor financial management by the principals. Some of the principals are accused of lacking the necessary training required of financial managers while others are accused of imposing illegal levies on the students, neglecting budgetary plans, delaying disbursement of funds for fraudulent purposes. This situation apparently crates a turbulent atmosphere for the success of teaching-learning process. According to Nwankwo, (1999) the school administrator needs specific skills in financial management which are as follows:-Revenue generation, Assessment of the school needs, Planning and programming, Prioritizing areas of pressing needs, Cost benefit analysis, Stock taking, Market survey, Budgeting, Financial record keeping, Receipts, Banking strategies, Delegation of staff for financial matters, Auditing and Accountability.
Financial management practices of principals in Benue State has become a sensitive issue over the years because of the growing public and government interest in the provision of funds for the implementation of school programmes. The public expects the school administrators to ensure prudent management of school funds but on the contrary there are speculations and accusations of financial mismanagement by principals such as lack of initiative by principals to create other sources of funding the school, neglect of budgetary plans in financing school programmes, poor disbursement of funds, lack of trained personnels such as the bursars and cashier, lack of training in financial management by some principals, illegal levies imposed on students, incompletion of projects already approved and paid for by the government, abuse of P.T.A funds, poor record keeping and poor auditing and accounting system. It is against this background, that this study is designed to investigate the financial management practices of secondary school principals in Benue State.
Statement of the Problem
The present state of some secondary schools in Benue State is quite deplorable, most books in the library are obsolete, there are out-dated equipments in the laboratories, school buildings are yearning for renovation. It seems all these could be attributed to poor financial management practices by principals in Benue 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 Benue State has attracted criticism from parents and the general public and need to be reviewed. This study, therefore intends to investigate the financial management practices of principals in Benue State. It will also proffer solution for financial mismanagement in secondary schools.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the financial management practices of the secondary school principals in Benue State
Specifically this study intends to:
- Find out the sources of funding secondary schools in Benue State.
- Identify the procedures of budget preparation by principals in Benue State.
- Find out the factors hindering financial management in the schools
- Establish how funds are managed by the principals in Benue State.
