Management of funds allocated to special education units in selected primary schools of Chongwe district.
Date
2022-06-29
Authors
Selemani, Betty
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The study was carried out to investigate how funds allocated to special education units in
selected primary schools in Chongwe District are managed. The study sought to: ascertain usage
of the funds allocated for special needs education in public primary schools to evaluate
awareness of financial management guidelines in the management of school funds allocated to
special needs among primary school managers and to establish the challenges faced by the
special education units when accessing and using of funds allocated to special education units in
selected primary schools in Chongwe District. A case study research design was adopted for the
study. The sample size was 4 head teachers, 4 Special Education Coordinators, and 4 Cashiers of
special education units in primary schools. All participants were selected through judgmental
purposive sampling method. The data collection instruments used was semi structured
interviews. The data collected through interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis where
data was sorted, coded and interpreted. The study findings revealed that there were no clear
guidelines guiding the usage of funds allocated to special education units in primary schools and
this enabled special education units to opt to use funds on matters more to do with administrative
works than matters to do with learner support. The study findings also revealed that schools with
special education classes had no stand - alone financial management guidelines on the utilisation
of funds on special education programmes and special education units spent funds without
following any laid down guidelines. The findings of the study revealed that finance scarcity was
posing a very serious challenge in special education units because there were inadequate funds
allocated to special education units in primary schools. The research further concluded that the
lack of training of financial management committees in financial management has a negative
influence on the ability of head teachers to effectively and efficiently manage school funds which
are allocated to special education needs; the task requires basic level competency in accounting
and book keeping. Finally, the study recommends that the Ministry of Education should also
intensify awareness campaigns on the financial management guidelines they issue to assist
primary school managers make informed financial decisions; ensure that school committee
members are actively involved in the management of school funds to reinforce their overseer and
supervisory functions in the utilization of school funds.
Description
Thesis
Keywords
Special education--Finance. , Special education--Zambia.