0.3 Analysis of results and research findings  (Page 4/7)

According to Clarke (2008; 291) one of the main purposes of the school’s finance policy is to put in place a system of controls to ensure that the school’s finances are safeguarded and correctly managed, a view supported by Guidelines for Accounting Officers (2000; 28) which states that internal controls are systems, procedures and processes that are implemented to minimise risk as a result of either fraud or negligence.

4.3.4.theme 4: inadequate school funding

All participants categorically agreed that their school funding was insufficient to pay for the basic recurrent expenses, which are the day-to-day running costs. All participants, with the exception of school 3 argued vehemently that they had been incorrectly ranked (ranked in the wrong quintile).

Principal 8 complained bitterly that her school shared a common fence with her neighbouring school yet her school was ranked in quintile 5 while the neighbour was in ranked in quintile 4. Letters of contestation had been written to the KZNDoE for the last three years to no avail – officials from the Pinetown District had queried with Head Office but they are yet to receive a response.

Principal 6: “Ours is a township school and the majority of our parents are unemployed and many of our learners come from child headed households, yet we are ranked in quintile 4. We have contested our ranking regularly but we have had no positive feedback from the department.”

The South African Schools Act explains the responsibility of the state on the one hand to fund public schools on an equitable basis and the responsibility of the school governing body on the other hand to supplement the resources supplied by the state.

All participants agreed that school fee collection rates had been decreasing every year. As the bad debt factor increases, schools are finding it increasingly difficult to run their schools efficiently and effectively. The South African Schools Act explains the parents’ liability to pay school fees and also empowers school governing bodies to take legal action in order to enforce errant parents to pay school fees.

Principal 3: “Our collection rate (of school fees) is excellent however in recent years we’ve been handing more and more parents over to our lawyers to enforce the payment of fees.”

Parent 3: “Even though I believe it is morally wrong to sue parents for outstanding school fees, what else can we do?”

Parent 2 explained that over the past few years the school fee collection rate had been on the decline and the previous years (2008) collection was less than 25%.

Educator 7 explained that in the current economic climate with the world experiencing an economic downturn he could identify with parents being unable to pay school fees as the basic needs for food, clothing and shelter could not be met. He went on to say that government should take cognisance of this and increase state spending on education.

Parent 4: “What happened to the ruling party’s promise of free education for all?”

Principal 7: “The states “no fee school” media campaign was poorly run and highly misleading as it has incorrectly led all parents to believe that all schools are no fee schools. Fee charging schools now have great difficulty in getting patents to pay.”