THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TRAINING ON SCHOOL GOVERNORS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The institutionalization of School-Based Management (SBM) in many countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, United States, Hong Kong, South Africa, to mention a few, has brought many responsibilities to School Governors and the most challenging of them all being managing school finances because it entails financial accountability at the school level. This study was precipitated by a concern that, despite the training School Governing Bodies (SGBs) get on financial management, schools in the Fort Beaufort Education District continue to face challenges of mismanagement and misappropriation of school funds leading to unsatisfactory school performance. These schools continue to operate without proper financial accounting systems in place, making their financial situation always in tatters. The paper examined the financial management content, the qualities of the trainers and the teaching methods adopted in the Training. Using a qualitative case study design, the district with three schools, was purposively selected for this study. Data were collected using interviews, observations and document analysis instruments. The findings revealed that not all prescribed content was covered; trainers were not qualified in financial management and inappropriate training methods were used. The study recommends among others that all the content prescribed by the South African Schools Act (No 81 of 1996) be covered in the training and that all trainers should have a qualification in financial management.