PHYSICAL ASSETS AND PERSONNEL CONTROL MEASURES ADOPTED BY PRINCIPALS FOR REDUCING FINANCIAL MISAPPROPRIATION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated physical assets and personnel control measures adopted by Principals for reducing financial misappropriation in public secondary schools in Anambra State. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 526 respondents made up of 263 principals and 263 bursars in the 263 public secondary schools in Anambra State. All the 526 were used for the study due to relatively manageable size of the population. A researcher-developed instrument titled ‘‘Principals’ physical assets and personnel Control Measures for reducing Financial Misappropriation Questionnaire (PPAPCMRFMQ)’’ was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts comprising two lecturers from the Department of Educational Management and Policy, and one in Measurement and Evaluation from Department of Education Foundations, Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha which yielded coefficients of 0.78 and 0.81 for clusters I and II respectively and overall value of 0.80. The researcher together with five research assistants collected data for the study and 98% return rate was recorded. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed among others that Principals do not adopt physical assets control measures for reducing financial misappropriation in public secondary schools in Anambra State. It also found that Principals adopt personnel control measures for reducing financial misappropriation in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that continuous capacity building programmes on physical assets control measures should be organized by Anambra State of All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) for their members to enable them upgrade their knowledge and acquire innovative skills of managing school funds for procurement, safeguarding and utilization of school facilities.