A programme to facilitate principals' financial management of public schools

Abstract

English: Since 1994, the South African education system has been characterised by the implementation of new legislation steering the restructuring of management systems and the decentralisation of powers to schools, as also set out in the preamble of the South African Schools Act No 84 of 1996. This includes the delegation of decision-making powers regarding the management of school funds to School Governing Bodies of Section 21 public schools, as well as to the principals as the financial managers of these schools. Consequently public school principals need to have the skills, knowledge and appropriate attitudes that are required in order to ensure that public funds are spent wisely. In the light of his own experience as a public school principal, and having had to manage school funds over a period of seven years, as well as being influenced by reports of financial malpractices amongst departmental employees of the Free State Department of Education (FSDoE) since 2003, the researcher opted to do an investigation into the need for and the nature of a possible extended and/or improved programme to better facilitate principals’ financial management of public schools in the province. In order to do the investigation, the researcher firstly employed an extensive literature review regarding the major roles and responsibilities of school principals as financial managers of schools, as well as possible programmes to develop school principals as financial managers in South Africa. The research design and methodology employed involved an embedded mixed methods approach consisting of two empirical research phases. During phase one the researcher firstly undertook a situation analysis by means of a quantitative checklist survey amongst public school principals in the Motheo Education District of the FSDoE. In order to validate the findings of the checklist survey, he subsequently employed an embedded, qualitative, interactive and one-on-one interview survey amongst non-respondents to the checklist survey, as well as an embedded, noninteractive, qualitative interview survey amongst office-based education officials (nominated for this purpose by two provincial education departments). In short, the research findings from this first phase of the investigation may be summarised as follows: · Despite any existing attempts or programmes to facilitate principals’ financial management of public schools, it was clearly reported that school principals in the Free State Province still experienced problems with the execution of their financial management roles and responsibilities at the time of the surveys. · Some of the school principals taking part in the surveys were not conversant with and/or did not adhere to all the regulations and guidelines regarding their financial management responsibilities. · In general, the participants involved in the mentioned surveys were in favour of an extended and/or improved programme to better facilitate principals’ financial management of public schools. These findings were considered to be an adequate answer to the basic question: WHY should an extended/improved developmental financial management programme be established? During phase two of the empirical investigation the researcher was eventually able to formulate a semi-final plan for an extended and/or improved support, training and development programme consisting of 67 salient features, inductively derived from the findings of the literature study and the preceding surveys, and which relate to the remaining five basic and guiding questions: HOW?; WHAT?; WHO?; WHEN?, and WHERE?. The semi-final plan was then evaluated by a panel of purposefully selected office-based education officials and public school principals who were considered to be experts regarding public school principals’ financial management problems. The results of this quantitative questionnaire evaluation survey confirmed the validity of at least 62 of the 67 features. In his final plan for a programme to facilitate principals’ financial management of public schools, the researcher subsequently replaced five of the 67 features proposed in the semi-final plan with improved features and recommended the addition of three more important features. It is hoped that the FSDoE, as well as other provincial education departments in South Africa, will be able to use the proposed plan in the development of customised support, training and development programmes for school principals as financial managers of public schools.

Afrikaans: Sedert 1994 word die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel gekenmerk deur die implementering van nuwe wetgewing wat gerig was op die herstrukturering van bestuurstelsels en die desentralisering van magte na skole, soos ook verwoord in die aanhef van die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet, Nr. 84 van 1996. Dit sluit die delegering van besluitnemingsmagte aangaande die bestuur van skoolfondse na Skoolbeheerliggame van Afdeling 21-skole, asook na die betrokke skoolhoofde as die finansiële bestuurders van hierdie openbare skole, in. Gevolglik word daar van skoolhoofde verwag om die nodige vaardighede, kennis en houdings te hê wat nodig is om te verseker dat hierdie openbare fondse kundig bestee word. In die lig van sy eie ervaring as ’n openbare skoolhoof wat vir ’n periode van sewe jaar ‘n skoolfonds moes bestuur, en onder die indruk van gerugte van finansiële wanpraktyke onder departementele amptenare van die Vrystaatse Departement van Onderwys (VDvO), het die navorser besluit om ’n ondersoek te onderneem na die behoefte aan en die aard van ’n moontlike uitgebreide en/of verbeterde program om skoolhoofde se finansiële bestuur van openbare skole in die provinsie beter te kan fasiliteer. Vir die doel van die ondersoek het die navorser eerstens ‘n uitgebreide literatuurondersoek oor die belangrikste rolle en verantwoordelikhede van skoolhoofde as die finansiële bestuurders van skole, asook moontlike programme om openbareskoolhoofde as finansiële bestuurders in Suid-Afrika te ontwikkel, onderneem. Die navorsingsontwerp en –metodologie wat gevolg is, het uit ʼn ingebedde gemengdemetodebenadering, bestaande uit twee empiriese fases, bestaan. Gedurende fase een het die navorser eerstens ‘n situasie-analise deur middel van ‘n kontrolevraelysopname onder hoofde van openbare skole in die Motheo Onderwysdistrik van die VDvO onderneem. Ten einde die geldigheid van die resultate van die kontrolevraelysopname te verseker, het hy vervolgens ‘n ingebedde, kwalitatiewe, interaktiewe en een-tot-een onderhoudopname onder nie-respondente van die kontrolevraelys, asook ’n ingebedde, nie-interaktiewe onderhoudopname onder kantoorgebaseerde onderwysamptenare (wat deur twee provinsiale onderwysdepartemente genomineer is), onderneem. Die bevindings van voorgenoemde opnames kan kortliks soos volg opgesom word: · Ten spyte van enige bestaande pogings of programme om die finansiële bestuur van openbare skole te fasiliteer, was dit duidelik dat skoolhoofde in die Vrystaatprovinsie nog steeds probleme met die uitvoering van hul finansiële bestuursrolle en –verantwoordelikhede tydens die opnames ondervind het. · Sommige van die skoolhoofde wat aan die opnames deelgeneem het, was nie vertroud met al die regulasies en riglyne ten opsigte van hul finansiële bestuursverantwoordelikhede nie en/of het nie daarby gehou nie. · Oor die algemeen was die deelnemers aan die voorgenoemde opnames ten gunste van ’n uitgebreide en/of verbeterde program om die skoolhoofde se finansiële bestuur van openbare skole beter te fasiliteer. Hierdie bevindinge is as ’n genoegsame antwoord op die volgende basiese vraag beskou: HOEKOM moet ’n uitgebreide/verbeterde finansiële bestuursontwikkelingsprogram daargestel word? Gedurende fase twee van die empiriese ondersoek was die navorser uiteindelik in staat om ’n semi-finale plan vir ’n uitgebreide en/of verbeterde ondersteunings-, opleidings- en ontwikkelingsprogram, bestaande uit 67 uitstaande kenmerke (wat induktief op grond van die bevindings van die literatuurondersoek en die voorafgaande opnames saamgestel is), te formuleer. Hierdie kenmerke hou verband met die oorblywende vyf basiese en leidende vrae: HOE?; WAT?; WIE?; WANNEER?, en WAAR?. Die semi-finale plan is vervolgens deur ‘n paneel van kantoorgebaseerde onderwysamptenare en openbare skoolhoofde wat doelgerig (vanweë hul kundigheid oor openbare skoolhoofde se probleme) geselekteer is, geëvalueer. Die resultate van hierdie kwantitatiewe vraelysevalueringsopname het die geldigheid van minstens 62 van die 67 kenmerke bevestig. In sy finale voorgestelde plan vir ’n program om skoolhoofde se finansiële bestuur van openbare skole beter te fasiliteer, het die navorser vervolgens vyf van die 67 kenmerke van die semi-finale plan met verbeterde kenmerke vervang en drie addisionele kenmerke aanbeveel. Daar word gehoop dat die VDvO, asook ander provinsiale onderwysdepartemente in Suid-Afrika, in staat sal wees om die voorgestelde plan te gebruik ten einde ’n pasgemaakte ondersteunings-, opleidings- en ontwikkelingsprogram vir skoolhoofde as finansiële bestuurders van openbare skole te ontwikkel.