Principal’s Visionary Leadership and Financial Management in Secondary Schools in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

An ideal funding system in a secondary school provides a key avenue for ensuring that its operations are running smoothly. It should have reliable structures of administration with competent staff such as the bursars and accounts clerks. Nevertheless, that has not been the case due to delays caused by the government when releasing funds and fees paid by the students to secondary schools. The purpose of the study was to investigate principals' visionary leadership and financial management in secondary schools in Meru County, Kenya. The study used a survey research design that was descriptive and cross-sectional. The target population was 389 secondary schools which were sampled through a random sampling method to get schools. It further used a purposive sampling method to obtain 117 principals and 117 bursars. The study administered questionnaires and also collected secondary data. Piloting was done in twelve secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County. The study analysed quantitative data using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and mean. It also carried out correlation analysis to test hypothesis. The study found that there was low professional advancement of staff working in the accounts office which was attributed to a failure of principals to push for the same, fearing that the staff may leave the school for greener pastures after the training. The study recommends that principals should make the initiative of ensuring that they motivate the accounting staff by equipping themselves with the skills and expertise for career advancement