ASSESSMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS’ FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN IMO STATE OF NIGERIA: FOCUS ON CONTRACT AWARDS

Abstract

The  purpose of this study was to assess principals’ financial management practices in secondary schools in Imo State by specifically ascertaining extent principals apply the Imo State financial instructions in award of contracts. One research question and one null hypothesis guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The area of this study is Imo State. The population for this study comprised 790 respondents made up of 395 principals and 395 bursars in the State. The entire population of the study was used in the study. A questionnaire developed by the researchers was the instrument used for data collection. Two lecturers in the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University validated the instrument. The reliability of the instrument was determined by administering copies of the questionnaire on 30 respondents made up of 15 principals and 15 bursars in secondary schools in Anambra state. Data were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha and a reliability co­efficient of 0.75 was obtained for the instrument. The researchers administered the instrument directly to the respondents with the help of three research assistants. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while t-test was used to test the hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that the extent of principals’ application of financial instructions in the award of contracts in Imo State is low. Accordingly, it was recommended among others that the Imo State Ministry of Education should conduct regular training of principals especially on processes of awarding and execution of contracts, contract fund disbursement and contract appraisals.a