Financial management is important for schools as it enables them to plan their finances, acquire and manage

funds, allocate funds, increase efficiency and cut down on financial costs. However, there have been reports on

rampant mismanagement of funds in public schools This study sought to investigate financial management in

Public schools. A case study design was adopted with Pumula High, Amhlophe High and St Bernards High

schools from Hyde park North cluster. Major challenges were found to be, financial illiteracy, staff shortages,

According to the Advocate for International Development (2022), there should be quality education for all by

2030. All schools therefore need financial support for them to function effectively and efficiently and offer

proper education according to the sustainable development goal number four which emphasizes on the quality

education for all (A4ID, 2022). Nonetheless, the goals and objectives of the schools may not be achieved if the

school funds are not properly managed (Zengele 2013). Financial management practices have to be strictly

adhered to for schools to run smoothly and provide the quality education for all as per the sustainable

development goal number four. Failure to follow prudent financial management practices have led to school

funds disappearing and not being accounted for by the responsible authorities (Vincente, Flores, Almagro,

authority to oversee the day to day running of institutions. Mismanaging of finances in schools result in the

public schools lacking the necessities required for student to get quality education as advocated for in the 2030

Agenda for sustainable development goals that was adopted by all United Nations Members in 2015. The

possible cause of mismanagement of funds could be swindling and misappropriating of funds by those in

charge of handling them in schools, lack of planning or lack of knowledge on how to manage receipts and

expenditures. Although some studies have been carried out on the issues of public finance and management of

funds, not much has been done to come up with a thorough understanding of the challenges faced regarding the

day to day running of the funds at these schools. Perhaps a case study using a qualitative research methodology

financial managers face in managing the day to day usage of school funds.

According to Mestry (2016) it is of paramount importance for the school financial managers to have the

requisite background knowledge that would enable them to carry out their financial management

responsibilities for the proper running of schools. Aina and Bipath (2020) opine that the financial tasks given

the education policies to ensure effective school financial decision making. However previous studies have

shown that school financial managers lack the necessary financial skills to effectively manage the school

funds.

Rangongo, Mohlakwanaa and Beckman,(2016) carried out a study on financial mismanagement in South

African Private Schools and found out that lack of financial management skills and proficiency, incomplete

knowledge of policies, poor monitoring and control of funds, dishonesty, lack of openness and trustworthiness

and school heads who are supposed to be the schools’ financial managers. This affects them negatively when

they have to execute financial management duties. They lack the necessary financial management skills

required to execute the financial management duties resulting in mismanagement of funds either by themselves

thefts.

Thenga (2012) asserts that financial management remains a challenge in many schools because most heads and

principals lack proper training. Ndlovu (2013) agrees to this and posits that some school heads have been held

responsible for misuse of school funds, yet they would have just failed to account for the finances due to lack

of financial background and expertise on financial matters. Some school heads are sometimes found on the

planning instrument.

The Zimbabwean Statutory Instrument Number 87 of 1992 dictates that every school should have a finance

committee but some schools do not have the committees. This results in the school having no segregation of

duties leading to challenges and thus Chikowore (as cited in Mapolisa 2016) argues that it is not surprising that

the schools face a number of cases of funds embezzlement by the school heads.

Mapolisa (2014) notes that although the financial management and running of school must be done by school

heads and principals in conjunction with the School Development Committees / Associations, the School

Heads or Principals have a significant influence on the decision making of the SDC/A regarding the school

finances. This leads to the decisions regarding utilisation of finances being in line with what the principals

want and this may not always be in line with enhancement of school outcomes. Mpofu ( as cited in Mapolisa

2016) argue that the dual nature of roles played by school heads and principals is controversial and presents

schools. It was further revealed in the study that some SDC/A members were busy with their family chores,

had no formal education and would not spend time at the schools, while heads always experience urgent

matters that need financial decision making at the schools. This therefore would necessitate urgent decision

making if the schools are to be kept running smoothly. The study argues that the urgent financial decision

making would be for the benefit of the schools. It was noted that the SDC/A would then perform the ritual of

endorsing what the school heads thought would be good for the school. The other challenge faced on financial

management practices is that the school heads and the SDC/A members are not experts on financial matters,

hence mistakes may not be avoided.

A study carried out by Mestry (2006), revealed that principals and SDC/As’ chairperson hardly ever consulted

relevant financial role players hence funds are normally mismanaged by the few top authorities in the school

and they are sometimes not utilised according to priorities of the school.

The research used a qualitative methodology whose research design was a case study on 3 schools in the Hyde

Park North Cluster, in Matabeleland, Bulawayo Province. The interpretivist research paradigm was chosen

because of its qualities that according to Nguyen (2015) allow the researcher to view the world through

perceptions and experiences of the participants. The paradigm was in line with Nguyen (2015)’s assertion that,

the experiences and perceptions of the participants are used to construct and interpret understanding from the

Data was collected through interviews done with the School Heads, the Bursars and the Chairpersons of the

SDA/Cs. An interview guide with a list of questions to guide the interviews was used to collect the data

schools in question.

for triangulation purposes which was meant to ensure trustworthiness and credibility.The documents that were

used included newspapers, minutes of meetings, brochures, manuals, journals and these are found in libraries,

newspaper archives as well as in the schools’ files. With regards to participant observation, the researcher had

to sit and watch schools’account clerks as they received various payments from students and parents and got

the grasp of how the physical cash is dealt with from receipt to banking in it.

Financial management challenges in public schools were assessed through various questions which were listed

on the interview guide Findings were stated under the excerpts according to the themes as follows;

financial management issues. Budgets are not very effective in the Zimbabwean economy where prices are

always escalating and inflation is on the run. The ever-escalating prices renders budgets useless resulting in

schools depending on high interest credits to purchase commodities and by so doing the schools become

overborrowed and have to pay lots of interest charges.

informed decisions. They should learn how to forecast revenues from school fees, levels and other income

generating projects, and plan expenditures accordingly. The school management team should also engage

stakeholders like parents teachers and the community members in major decisions to be taken. This would

create a system of checks and balance that ensure this are done properly. Transparency needs not to be over

emphasised as it ensures that financial transactions and decisions are clear and traceable, reducing risk of