Records Management Practices and School Management Decisions in Selected Secondary Schools in Kibuku District, Eastern Uganda

The study examined the effect of records management practices on school management decisions in selected secondary schools in Kibuku District, Eastern Uganda. The objectives of the study included: i) to establish the effect of records management practices on academic decisions, and ii) to examine the effect of records management practices on administrative decisions in selected secondary schools. A cross-sectional survey design was used to guide this study. The study involved 113 respondents. These were purposively and simply randomly selected. The questionnaires, interview guide and focus group discussion helped in collecting the data. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of frequencies and percentages as well as SPSS, whereas, qualitative data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. The study findings revealed that records management practices have a significant effect on academic decisions in selected secondary schools in the Kibuku District (r=.686**, p=0.001). The study also revealed that records management practices have a significant effect on administrative decisions in selected secondary schools in Kibuku district (r=.342**, p=0.001). The study concluded that records management practices in administrative and financial decisions had the highest significant positive relationship on the school management decisions in secondary schools. It was concluded that records management practices play a key role in the management of academic institutions, so they should be handled seriously. The study recommended that records management practices should be improved through the introduction of computerized formats such as e-payment of fees, and digitized systems to check teachers’ class attendance. In the same way, secondary schools should draft a records management policy to govern and regulate the management of students' academic records