Management of Secondary School Finances in Kenya

Education is an indispensable tool for the continued existence and growth of any nation. Finances are a major educational input and hence their management could have implications on academic achievement. Stakeholders have made unsupported claims that funds are mismanaged and misdirected hence poor performance in national examinations. This study sought to establish the implications of financial management on academic achievement in public secondary schools in Kakamega County, Kenya. The study is anchored on the production function model. The findings established that most managers attended to their roles but lacked the prerequisite skills. The study further revealed that there was a strong positive correlation between funds spent on direct academic programs and KCSE mean score so the null hypothesis was rejected. Correlation between income received and KCSE mean score was positive and strong.The study concludes that financial management is critical to academic achievement and hence total quality management is inevitable.

Autorentext

The author, Dr. Irene Ashioya is a lecturer at Kaimosi Teachers' College. She holds a PhD and MEd degrees of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Educational Planning and Management. She was awarded a BEd degree of Kenyatta University in Home Economics.Irene has published six articles in referred journals and a monograph.