Abstracts Economics

Situational analysis of financial sustainability in selected public secondary schools in Ndola district of Zambia.

by Makumba Anthony Chisanga

The aim of this study is to establish the financial situation, sources of funds and how sustainable are the funds in the selected public secondary schools in Ndola district of Zambia. Descriptive design was used to facilitate description and inference building about population parameters and the relationship among two or more variables. The purpose of descriptive research was to describe the state of affairs as it was at present. The study targeted five public secondary schools in the southern zone of Ndola district. The study used the interview guide as a means of collecting data. The study established that the financial situation in schools is bad to help financial sustainability in public secondary schools. It further found out that most finances come from Government grants and user fees. It established that four (3) schools fail to sustain funds in schools due to poor budgeting skills by the Administrators. Only 25% of schools managed to carry out planned activities for the whole year because of other fundraising ventures they are involved in. The outcome states that the predictive model is key to financial sustainability for public secondary school‟s educational institutions. The study recommended that the government should come up with the system that will give full mandate to school Head Teachers to collect user fees in order to sustain finances in public secondary schools. For instance, allow the school authority to only allow pupils whose user fees are fully paid up should be in school. Schools should engage in intensive fundraising ventures such as fish farming selling items made from industrial arts and home economics as well as hiring of school buses as a means of public transport. The government should be organizing more intensive training sessions in financial management for school authorities to enable them have proper budgetary skills.