Perceived Contribution of Internally Generated Revenue to Public Secondary School Funding in Ondo State, Nigeria (2010‒2015)

Abstract

The underfunding of schools in Nigeria has led to poor quality of education at a period when globalisation demands much from the education system in terms of training a skilled workforce. In Ondo State, the government has encouraged public secondary schools to generate funds internally in order to complement the insufficient grants it provides. The aim is to facilitate the proper functioning of schools. Nevertheless, education stakeholders have not ceased to complain about a shortage of funds. There is therefore the need to assess the various sources and trends of internally generated revenue (IGR) and the contribution thereof to the funding of education and school development in Ondo State. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of 304 principals of public secondary schools in Ondo State. The sample of this study included 60 principals who were selected from the total number by means of a simple random sampling technique. They were divided into groups of twenty (20) for each of the three (3) senatorial districts in Ondo State. The research instrument was a self-designed questionnaire. The data obtained were analysed using frequency counts, simple percentages and other appropriate statistical techniques. The result showed that there were many sources of IGR for public secondary schools in Ondo State as most of the schools have more than one major channel of IGR apart from tuition fees and PTA, examination and sports levies which are common to all sampled schools. Also, the trends in the contribution of IGR to secondary schools in Ondo State are annual. It was recommended that school administrators should include other means of generating money so as not to overburden parents, especially during the economic downturn.