A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF FUND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of The Study

One of the instruments regarded as useful for socioeconomic growth is the education system, without which, as propounded by Oboegbulem (2013), neither an individual nor a country can achieve professional and economic development. As a result, funds allocated for educational purposes require effective management so as to achieve the objective for which they were made available. According to Madumere-Obike (2011), every organization’s administration, survival, and sustainability are highly engineered by the funds available as well as the managerial competence of the administrators. And educational institutes such as schools are not an exception. In a secondary school setting, the principal, as asserted by Anyaogu (2010), is the fundamental element on which the success of school organization depends.

Therefore, as a school administrator, the major resources that require tactical managerial skills are human and material resources, including finances, which facilitate the administrative effectiveness of the school system (Edem 2003). In other words, the principal is faced with the responsibility of determining how to produce, raise money, expand, and give accounts for funds generated for the execution of school programs. Hence, effective financial management strategies are necessarily required by principals to avoid financial mismanagement (Kruger 2003).

However, secondary school principals in Nigeria, as claimed by Moses (2014), are inefficient in the management and accountability of the finances in their schools. These managerial deficiencies may not have been engineered by fund embezzlement but may have been as a result of ignorance and lack of budgeting, record-keeping, and overall fund management techniques. According to Nnabuo (2014), regardless of drawn budgets, principals are much more required to provide reliable information on how school funds are generated and expended. On the other hand, poor financial accountability has been one major challenge impeding effective management of secondary schools in terms of revenue management.

Additionally, lack of prudence and mismanagement of school funds by the principals, as stipulated by Lomark (2005), could result in students’ poor academic performance since it may delay the provision of vital materials for teaching and learning. The occurrence of fund mismanagement by secondary school principals, as affirmed by Mgbodile (2013), might be as a result of embezzlement carried out intentionally due to the high level of corruption in the country. In respect to the aforementioned, it becomes imperative for school principals to possess skills for making the right decisions backed by a high level of integrity and transparency that will be of benefit to the school's needs and the staff generally.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

The establishment, administration, and maintenance of set standards in any organization is greatly dependent on the financing available to it. Notably, no institution or school in history has ever succeeded without proper resource utilization and accountability (Oboegbulem, 2013).Poor management of finance does not only impede organizational success but also results in financial misappropriation, embezzlement, diversion of finance for different projects, etc. And secondary schools in Nigeria are no exception, as the principals, who are the major administrators, lack effective financial management strategies (Omukoro, 2011). Furthermore, according to Adzongo (2014), in Nigerian secondary schools, the principals (administrators) are ineffective in managing the financial resources of the school, which invariably affects the school's development and students' academic progression. In light of the above, this study is focused on ascertaining the impact fund management strategies have on effective administration in secondary schools.

1.3 Objective Of The Study

The general aim of this study is to examine the impact fund management strategies have on effective administration in secondary schools. Specifically, the study will

1.        Identify the need for fund management strategies among principals in secondary schools.

2.        Determine if there is any relationship between fund management strategies and effective financial administration in secondary schools.

3.        Ascertain the level of principals’ accountability in fund management in secondary schools.

4.        Identify the factors that hinder effective fund management by principals in secondary schools.

1.4 Research Hypotheses

The statements below will be validated in the course of this study;

H01: There is no significant relationship between fund management strategies and effective financial administration in secondary schools.

H02: The level of principals’ accountability in fund management in secondary schools is low.

1.5 Significance Of The Study

Many schools in Nigeria have suffered underdevelopment as a result of poor fund management by their principals. Invariably, a number of principals have lost their positions in schools due to this deficiency. Hence, this study will be most useful to school principals. The outcome of this study will educate them on the importance and benefits of financial management strategies. The study will also enlighten them on the various management competencies required for effective finance management in their respective schools.

Additionally, subsequent researchers will use it as a literature review. This means that other students who may decide to conduct studies in this area will have the opportunity to use this study as available literature that can be subjected to critical review. Invariably, the result of the study contributes immensely to the body of academic knowledge with regard to the impact of fund management strategies on effective administrative in secondary schools.

1.6 Scope Of The Study

The study is focused on examining the impact of fund management strategies on effective administrative practices in secondary schools. Further, the study will examine the need for fund management strategies among principals in secondary schools, the relationship between fund management strategies and effective financial administration in secondary schools, the level of principals’ accountability in fund management in secondary schools, and the factors that hinder effective fund management by principals in secondary schools. Hence, the respondents for this study will be obtained from some selected secondary schools in Eboyin State.

1.7. Limitations Of The Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents.

In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. 

More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

1.8 Definition Of Terms

Fund management: This is the overseeing and handling of a institution's cash flow

Financial Mismanagement: Financial mismanagement is management that, deliberately or not, is handled in a way that can be characterized as "wrong, bad, careless, inefficient or incompetent" and that will reflect negatively upon the financial standing of a business or individual.

Principal: A major administrator in a secondary school.