Appraisal of budgetary practices in grant-aided secondary schools

Project Abstract

<p> This study was designed to appraise budgetary practices in grant-aidedsecondary schools in North Central, Nigeria. Specifically the study sought to;<br>find out the extent procedures of budget preparation by the principals and the<br>bursars complies with school budget guidelines, determine the extent budget<br>estimates of principals are prepared in accordance with budget guidelines,<br>ascertain the extent budgetary provisions by principals are in accordance with<br>budget guidelines among others. Five research questions and four null<br>hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey design was employed. A 43-<br>item questionnaire was administered to 568 respondents, composing 284<br>principals and 284 bursars drawn from 284 grant-aided secondary schools.<br>Documentary evidences were used in order to obtain qualitative information on<br>the responses of the subjects. Mean scores and standard deviations were used to<br>answer research questions while the z-test statistic was used to test the null<br>hypotheses at 0.05 Alpha levels. The study found among other ones that<br>Principals’ budgetary estimates to a great extent follow laid down budget<br>guidelines. However principals and bursars disagreed on the proposition that no<br>expenditure may be incurred outside estimates except on the authority of a duly<br>signed warrant. The procedures used for budget preparation by principals and<br>bursars to a great extent comply with budget guidelines. The adequacy of<br>budgetary provisions by the principals to a great extent conform with the laid<br>down school budget blue prints, even though Board of Governors do not readily<br>approve alternative sources of funds sought for by principals. Principals to a<br>little extent use formalized monitoring strategies to ensure compliance with<br>budget provisions by the heads of departments. Factors that inhibit principals’<br>compliance with budget guidelines include; delay in budget approval by the<br>Ministry of Education and Schools Board, Principals neglect the opinions of<br>their subordinates in budget preparation, Principals do not make financial reports<br>available to heads of departments and heads of units after monitoring visit for<br>their future guide, officers who did not adhere to budget guidelines were not<br>queried. The inability of state governments to subsidize the cost of secondary<br>education affects budgetary practices of principals. Based on the findings and<br>implications of the study therein, the following recommendations are made;<br>Principals and bursars of secondary schools should be trained regularly on how<br>to adhere and comply strictly with the budget guidelines. Principals are to<br>monitor budgetary processes in their schools by setting up budget monitoring<br>committee among the members of the staff. The state Boards should ensure that<br>warrant of expenditure is issued to the principals at the beginning of every<br>session early enough to avoid financial discrepancies that could affect teaching<br>and leaning in grant-aided secondary schools.<br>16 <br></p>

Project Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p>Background of the Study</p><p>The importance of effective budgetary practices at all levels of economy has<br>for long been the major concern of many educationists, economists and<br>politicians. This is because effective budgetary practices reflect the focus of<br>administrators’ expenditure and revenue for major development in any financial<br>year. Aguba (2009) believed that a budget is a financial blue print for the<br>operation of organization, including the school system, for the fiscal year. In<br>consonance with this, Ogbonnaya (2005) defined a budget as the financial<br>statement of the proposed expenditure and expected revenue of the government,<br>public corporations, or educational institutions for a particular period of time.<br>Budget, therefore is an itemized summary of estimated or intended<br>expenditures for a given period along with proposals for financing organizational<br>programmes necessary for the attainment of pre-determined objectives. Budget<br>is expected to control wastage and extravagant spending in grant-aided<br>secondary schools.<br>School budget is an established financial standard needed to consciously<br>guide the activities of a school administrator towards the attainment of the aims<br>and objectives of the school in a given fiscal year (Ayodele, 2006). This position<br>is in line with the United States General Accounting office report in 1998 when<br>it asserted that school budgeting had historically been the process of balancing<br>expenditure with revenue to effect changes in spending, a process policy makers<br>17<br>view as constrictive. Constrictive in this context has to do with strict control of<br>budget administration in schools.<br>According to Roe cited in Ogbonnaya (2005), education budget is the<br>method through which the translation of educational needs into a financial plan<br>which is interpreted to the public in such a way that when formally adopted, it<br>expresses the kind of educational programme in focus. Educational budget can<br>be described as the proposed income and expenditure of educational institutions<br>within a particular period of time, usually in an academic session.<br>In general, Bala (2011) defined educational budget as an out line of plan for<br>financing the school system for a particular period of time. Bala believed that the<br>school budget should have timeframe to allow effective appraisal or evaluation<br>of budget to take place. Educational budget therefore, is a financial plan that sets<br>forth the resources necessary to meet a set of goals in an academic institution for<br>a certain period of time. Budget is recorded in monetary terms, it sets realistic<br>goals for programmes, staffing and operations. The revenue side of the budget<br>identifies the means for financing the plan, while the expenditure side of the<br>budget estimates the cost of the plan.<br>In any case the budget is the key instrument for the expression and execution<br>of the school administration’s financial policy. Educational budget has a wide<br>range of implications for the achievement of educational objectives because staff<br>members have to be paid their salaries and wages, equipment need to be<br>provided for use, infrastructural facilities need to be provided</p> <br><p></p>