Abstract
This paper investigates the underlying causes of financial mismanagement in public schools and focuses on the perceptions of various role players in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The various Departments of Basic Education in South Africa allocate funds to schools each year, and expect school principals and school governing bodies to manage it appropriately. The problem is that in some schools, the principals, teachers and school governing body members are perpetrators of various financial mismanagement activities related to financial mismanagement. This article reports on qualitative research used to arrive at an in-depth understanding of why financial mismanagement occurs in certain schools. For this purpose, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with principals, finance officers and departmental officials and analysed thematically. The findings revealed a lack of knowledge of legislation and skills, poor monitoring and control of funds, unavailability of financial policies in schools, omission to act against culprits, and lack of honesty, openness and trustworthiness. The article proposes remedies that might bring financial management in public schools in line with the principles of good governance. Keywords: Accountability; Corruption; Financial maladministration; Financial mismanagement; Misappropriation; Principals; Public schools; School governing bodies
Highlights
According to the Department for Education (United Kingdom) (2015), the Department for Education and Skills (DES) (United Kingdom) (2004, 2005), the Department of Education (DoE) (South Africa) (2004), section 37 of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SASA) (Republic of South Africa (RSA), 1996) and the State Government Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2011) the overall responsibility for controlling school money and property lies with governing bodies that are fully accountable for the allocation of funds to reflect school priorities, control of school expenditure, and preparation and auditing of annual reports
Research Question and Purpose The findings from these reports and literature review led to the formulation of the following research question: what are the possible causes of financial mismanagement in South African public schools, with specific reference to the Limpopo Province? the purpose of this study was to uncover the causes of financial mismanagement of school funds
Findings and Interpretation of Data We present what the principals, finance officers and departmental officials perceive as the causes of financial mismanagement in public schools.ii Thereafter, as a way of understanding the perceptions, opinions and experiences of the participants with regard to the causes of financial mismanagement in public schools, an interpretation of the developing themes was derived by relating the participants’ accounts to the available literature and by integrating and comparing the responses captured in the different data sets
Summary
According to the Department for Education (United Kingdom) (2015), the Department for Education and Skills (DES) (United Kingdom) (2004, 2005), the Department of Education (DoE) (South Africa) (2004), section 37 of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 (SASA) (Republic of South Africa (RSA), 1996) and the State Government Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2011) the overall responsibility for controlling school money and property lies with governing bodies that are fully accountable for the allocation of funds to reflect school priorities, control of school expenditure, and preparation and auditing of annual reports This principal usually assists the school governing body (SGB) in ensuring sound financial control. In many emerging market economies such as South Africa, financial mismanagement in schools is regarded as a major obstacle in the process of economic growth and development (Ahmed & Ahmed, 2012; Van Niekerk, 2012)
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