CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Â Â Â Â Â BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The effective administration of an organization’s finances may lead to its growth and development. Any organization’s lifeblood is finance. When finance is handled responsibly, success is gained; yet, when it is misused, the opposite is true. The achievement of an organization’s goals and objectives is its top priority, which is why it is critical for businesses to use all of its people, material, and financial resources to achieve these objectives (Heuneman, 1983). School finance management is determining how to get funds, increase funds, invest funds, and account for funds used to support a school’s programs and initiatives. The primary goal of finance management in an organization is to generate funds and ensure that they are used efficiently and effectively. This is critical owing to the scarcity of resources and the need to make the best use of those resources (Ogbonnaya, 2000). According to a research conducted in Uganda, only a tiny fraction of the funds assigned to the education sector were correctly employed; in fact, only around 13% of the funds allotted to the education sector were properly utilized (Hallak and Poisson, 2001). Mismanagement of funds has the effect of raising the cost of some school fees; efficiency will not be reached, and there will be disputes in decision-making. These are the secondary schools in Lagos State that are affected. Education funding mismanagement has an impact on the quality and accessibility of education (Poisson, 2001). A school’s plundered funds, on the other hand, leave the school with an unequipped library, science lab, crumbling infrastructure, and poorly compensated instructors, leaving the students with nothing but low academic performance now and in the future. According to a study conducted by UNESCO, there is a high correlation between the quality of education and the proper use of finances on a student’s performance (UNESCO, 2005). The management of funding in Lagos state secondary schools would assist in the provision of amenities that will enhance teaching and learning in schools, hence improving pupils’ academic achievement (Aghenta, 1999). This is due to the fact that with learning facilities on the ground, students’ talents will be identified and developed in order to attain success, as well as scientific concepts. When these facilities are available, students will be able to observe and practice what the instructor has taught them in class (theory) (Akinwumiju, 1990). The cost of obtaining teaching/learning materials has an impact on their quality and availability. Various scholars have observed that school finance management has a significant impact on educational quality. The resources went on to say that good resource management leads to the correct harnessing of physical, material, and human resources needed to produce great education (Adeogun ,2001). Delay in the release of funds, uneven distribution of limited resources, poor orientation of school administrators on fund management, unjustified appointment of school administrators by politicians, poor record of funds by the school bursary department, and non-payment of teachers’ salaries are all possible factors that could lead to fund mismanagement. School finance is for the day-to-day operations of the school; thus, it is important for school heads to plan out the budget of the school early enough to know how much money is left in the school treasury and how much money is required to carry out the school’s programs and initiatives. As a result, it has been discovered that certain head teachers or principals in Lagos state secondary schools mismanage cash through theft rather than bad planning and budgeting. This problem has gone unnoticed by the relevant regulatory organizations in Lagos state, and it is affecting the state’s educational advancement ( Oni, 1995). All levels of education in Nigeria have certain goals in mind, such as preparing Nigerian youths to contribute meaningfully to the country’s growth and preparing them for higher education (FRN, 2004). The fact is that monies are still required to achieve these goals. As a result, it is clear that the outcomes of students in Lagos state secondary schools are quite discouraging as a result of poor financial management; and as a result, this study is being conducted to support proper financial management for better learning outcomes in Lagos state secondary schools.
