INFLUENCE OF FUNDING PRACTICES ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN BENIN CITY METROPOLIS

The study investigated the influence of ownership and funding practices on the administration of secondary education in Benin City Metropolis. Three research questions were raised, and one hypothesis was formulated. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a population and sample size of 47 principals from 47 senior secondary schools adopting the census sampling technique in the three Local Government Areas in Benin City metropolis. A questionnaire titled: “Funding Practices of Administrators for Effective Administration of Public Secondary Schools Questionnaire” (FPAEAPSSQ) comprising 21 items divided into three sections was used for data collection. The instrument was adapted by the researcher from a previous study to suit the present study and was validated by two experts from the Department of Educational Management, University of Benin. Reliability of the instrument was established using the test-retest method and a reliability of 0.85 was obtained using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the t-test was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that Public secondary school principals in Benin City Metropolis possess various funding practices such as budgetary, auditing, and record-keeping strategies for effective school administration though there are differences in funding practices among male and female principals. Based on the findings, the study recommended budgeting planning capacity-building programmes, seminars, workshops, and conferences should be organized yearly by the State Ministry of Education/Post Primary Education Board for principals to further improve their skills in budget planning practices and also separate auditing units be established for the effective administration of secondary schools in Benin City Metropolis among others.