EFFECTS OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES’ ACCOUNTABILITY ON VALUE DELIVERY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A SURVEY OF SCHOOLS WITHIN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Contribution of financial resources to value delivery in secondary schools has not been clearly established. Opinion on the formers’ importance is divided. The problem addressed by this research was to find out whether factors like financial leakage, governance, accounting and audit controls, can be used to establish the link between resources and value delivery. The population of the study comprised of all the 336 registered secondary schools in Nakuru County of which 33 were randomly sampled. The County was stratified into administrative Districts, and the schools into public and private schools. Pre-tested questionnaires and observation guides were used to collect information from the respondents. Cronbach’s alpha was used to establish the reliability and validity of the data collected. The collected data was collated, cleaned, coded and entered for analysis using Kolmogorov Smirnov test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, goodness of fit test, simple and multiple regression tests and principle factor analysis, to establish the links among the variables. The study found that the income of the school, text books provided to students, accounting, audit controls and governance are major factors in determining the performance of schools in national examinations. Physical facilities, head teacher’s and bursar’s demographic and professional scores, perceived provision of resources, perceived leakage levels and ownership structures were found not to be significant in determining academic performance. Prices at which schools bought goods in the market were also found not to be influenced by the ownership structures. The study thus concluded that accountability as measured by accounting, governance and audit control is an important link in ensuring value delivery from financial resources. The study therefore recommends that the aforementioned variables be deeply entrenched in the school culture. This can be achieved by adopting an Integrated Secondary Schools Management Information System (ISSMIS). The system will enhance availability of information to the schools’ stakeholders about institutional assets, personnel and academic management of the school. The stakeholders can as a result be able to evaluate, control and follow audit trails which will in total ensure accountability. In response to this need, this study has developed an ISSMIS which may be customized to the needs of individual schools in the country.