ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN ANAMBRA STATE; FOCUS ON BUDGETING

The growing infrastructural decay, ill-equipped laboratories and libraries, dilapidated buildings, shortage of classroom accommodation, lack of science and technical equipment and consumables despite the financial commitment by government and individuals alike seem to suggest financial impropriety among principals in secondary schools in Anambra state. This prompted the study on the Analysis of Financial Management Activities of Secondary school principals: focus on Budgeting in Anambra state. The study was guided by three specific purposes and three research questions, descriptive research design was adopted. 259 respondents apiece for principals and Bursars in all the public secondary schools in Anambra state comprised the population. A 23-item instrument titled: Analysis of Principals’ Financial Management Activities through the lens of Budgeting in Secondary Schools Questionnaire” (APFMABQ) was used for Data collection. The instrument was subjected to face validation by three experts from faculty of education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Cronbach alpha method was used to ascertain the internal consistency of the items in relation to each of the constructs measured and the overall reliability coefficient of 0.80 was obtained. Mean statistics was used to answer the research questions. The findings among others revealed that secondary school principals in Anambra state do not engage in budget formulation activities. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that Principals should be encourage through seminar and workshop on the need to seek for the opinions and contributions of staff and other relevant stakeholders in the course of budget preparation. This will encourage every member of the organization to be involved in the implementation process and ultimately facilitate the realization of educational objectives.