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.
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