ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the financial management practices of Provosts of Federal Colleges of Education in South-South and South-East zones of Nigeria. Five research questions and five null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The five Federal Colleges of Education in South-South and South-East zones of Nigeria were used. The population of the study was the five Provosts of the five Federal Colleges of Education in South-East and South-South zones of Nigeria. The study used the Financial Management Practices Evaluation Scale developed by the researcher and validated by experts. The data obtained from the administered instrument were organized and analyzed using the mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and t-test to test the null hypotheses. Some of the major findings of the study are that Provosts do not adhere to the provisions of the financial accounting systems manual in planning for funds and in preparation of budgets. Even though the Provosts to a great extent constitute budget committee and consider government grants as principal sources of funds, they to a little extent organize endowment fund raising for their colleges. To little extent, the Heads of Departments of Fund Management and Budgeting monitor investment opportunities and advise the Provosts on how to tap the best sources of fund available to the Colleges among others. The findings on the other hand showed that Provosts adhere to the provisions of the manual in disbursement and management of the funds as well as in auditing procedures of the school account. The study shows that to a great extent, funds are disbursed accordingly to the needs of the different units and that the process of disbursement is done by different people at different levels. The Provosts and the bursars signs and approves; the internal auditors certifies it okay; the receipts and payments sections prepares the cheques; and the cashiers after normal approvals has been obtained. To a very great extent, all capital expenditures are approved by the Governing council. To a great extent also, school funds are used for capital projects, provisions of the needs of the Departments, and payment of staff salaries and allowances. Also to a great extent, all payment vouchers are certified, signed and stamped by the internal auditors before payments are made. To a great extent, the bursars send lists of names and specimen signature of those authorized to make payments on behalf of the Colleges to the internal auditors for verification before payment is made, among others. The implications of this study, among others, are that in the situations where Provosts do not adhere to the provisions of the manual in planning for funds and in budgeting, the Provosts depend mainly on government grants and that accounts to the alleged inadequacy of funds. Besides, budgeting is by the rule of the thumb which is responsible for misplacement of priorities and poor achievement of goals. Where the guidelines are followed, there is judicious use of funds and this enhances teaching-learning environment and quality graduate output and the overall achievement of objectives. The researcher among others recommended that workshops and seminars should be organized to enhance the financial management skills of the Provosts especially in planning for fund and budget preparations. The manual should however continue to be used as a guide in management of College funds.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Colleges of Education are tertiary institutions that are established for the production of highly dedicated and efficient teachers for post-primary schools. The extent to which this could be achieved significantly depends on the way the resources of the school especially funds are managed. The Federal Government of Nigeria (2004) states that Colleges of Education are among the teacher-education institutions required to give professional training for the production of highly skilled motivated conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for the primary and junior post – primary levels of our educational systems. In Nigeria, we have both State and Federal Colleges of Education. Colleges of Education whether state of Federal, award Nigerian of Certificate of Education (NCE). For Colleges of Education to achieve the basic objective of producing highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers, the financial resources made available to Colleges of Education need to be managed efficiently and effectively by highly qualified educational administrators.
The Provosts are the academic and administrative heads of the Colleges of Education. They are the chief executives of the institutions and so are responsible for the day-to-day management of the institutions including the financial resources. They decide how the finances of the college should be utilised and everything about the financial management.
Financial management according to Pandey (1995:3) is that managerial activity which is concerned with the planning and controlling of a system’s financial resources. He emphasized that good knowledge of financial management is important for managers because among the most crucial decisions of the system or institutions are those which relate to finance. An understanding of the theory of financial management provides such managers with conceptual and analytical insights to make financial decisions skillfully. Moshin (1981) stated that financial management is very important in the planning and controlling of any organization irrespective of any difference in structure, ownership or size. A sound knowledge of financial management helps the Provost to know the best ways to source, allocate and manage funds.
Financing and judicious management of funds in Colleges of Education have been issues of major concern to College administrators. This is so because according to Ogbonnaya (2000:17), “financial management has an impact on all segments of an organization”. The Colleges of Education are not exceptions. He further emphasized that financial management is involved in the acquisition and allocation of resources and the tracking of performance resulting from such allocations. Where there is paucity in the financial management system of an organization, objectives are hardly likely to be achieved. Besides raising funds, financial management is directly concerned with decision-making on the proper use of available funds. Ogbonnaya further pointed out that the central purpose of financial management whether in government, business, or individual level is the raising of funds and ensuring that the funds so raised are mobilized in the most effective manner.
The major financial matters of the Federal colleges of Education involve planning and sourcing for fund, preparing the College annual budgets, disbursement of the fund accordingly, using an approved criteria, management and monitoring of the fund disbursed and finally carrying out audits to ensure that the funds are judiciously used. The Bursars liaises with the other accounting officers including the Deputy Bursar, the Heads of different units, Accounting Supervisors, Internal Auditors and so on to ensure that these are accomplished. They are involved in the day-to-day running of the schools’ accounts and ensure that appropriate records are kept in line with the stated objectives.
Financial resources are one of the task areas of the educational management. Education is an expensive social service and requires adequate financial provision from all tiers of government for a successful implementation of educational programme (FRN, 2004). Colleges of Education need financial resources for the execution of their activities and programmes. Ozigi (1981) pointed out that no organization could survive or effectively carry out its function without adequate financial resources at its disposal. In other words, the success of any organization in achieving its objectives largely depends on its financial viability. Financial viability in this context refers to the timely availability and adequacy of funds as well as proper and judicious management of such funds. Educational institutions as organizations are no exceptions.
The actualization of the national aims and objectives of Nigerian educational philosophy is closely tied with the issue of funding indicated above. This is so because money is needed to pay staff, maintain plants and keep the needed institutional services on the move. Buttressing this point, Adesina in Eze (2006) stated that the most important part of the educational development is not its projection and output targets or its list of educational priorities, but that part which deals with the fiscal resources. Ogbonnaya (2005) stated clearly that funds are necessary for the achievement of the school’s objectives hence money is needed for employment and payment of staff salaries, allowances and other fringe benefits; setting up infrastructural facilities such as classroom blocks, administrative blocks, library and laboratory blocks, provision of school equipment and furniture including desks, tables, chairs, typewriters, computers, photocopies, among others. Funds are also needed for the purchase of appropriate instructional materials for the implementation of educational programmes and setting up of educational projects such as computer centers, bookshop, poultry farms and technology center.
Adesina in Ogbonnaya (2005:11) summarized the importance of funds in the implementation of educational programmes when he stated that:
The cost of goods and services embedded in the school system is a sufficient justification of the emphasis commonly placed on school finance. The magnitude of the number of employees, the building, equipment, and supplies used in the school system, accounting and principles of financial resources allocation are important to the educational administrator. From the point of view of a nation’s economy, education is both a producer and consumer. It draws enormously on the economy and it contributes enormously to it.
The extent to which Colleges of Education can achieve their objectives of producing teachers depends significantly on the availability of funds and its prudent management. Prudent management according to Nwankwo (1982) is the ability to anticipate, calculate, regulate, utilize and control functions, services and resources cautiously and expeditiously towards achieving the aims and objectives of an institution. The success of programmes of Colleges of Education largely depends on the prudent financial management practices of the Provosts who are the chief accounting officers of the Colleges. .
To ensure proper management of funds in Colleges of Education, a body known as the National Commission for College of Education (NCCE) was created for the colleges. This body oversees the activities of all the Colleges of Education in Nigeria including the state Colleges of Education.
