CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of Study

The current economic crisis that has hit the Nigerian nation has been so severe that the government's many social services, such as education, have been negatively impacted. School administrators have attracted public attention to the country's low funding for public schools. The government and the general public have always reacted to the financial crisis in Nigeria in different ways, granting help or increasing financial support to schools. It established the education task fund (ETF) to assist in meeting the financial needs of both students and teachers. According to Ezeocah (1985), any venture must be financially feasible in order to succeed. Any business organization that wants to prosper needs money. The prudent management of an organization's financial resources is critical to the attainment of its objectives. Educational financing requires careful administration, just like any other type of business.

The term "financial management" refers to the process of raising and handling funds. It covers how to plan, program, budget, secure, and maintain both material and financial resources in order to achieve the institution's goal. It is self-evident that no organization can exist or carry out its functions successfully and efficiently if its financial resources are not adequately utilized. Financial management, according to Pandy (1979), is an important and integral aspect of total management. The basic concern of financial policy, in this broad sense, is the "wise utilization of cash." Appropriate financial management methods lead to job satisfaction, which, according to Ndu, Ocho, and Okeke (1997), has to do with an individual's emotional stability in his job, resulting in a high level of morale and, as a result, a desire to do more for the organization's goals. This means that the more teachers are rewarded for their efforts, the more likely they are to work hard. The higher the extent to which an employee's needs are met at work, the more likely he will respond, presumably with gratitude or loyalty, as well as with successful production.

Because education is viewed as a primary vehicle for social, economic, technical, and moral dynamism, every nation would like to provide the finest education possible to its population within the constraints of its resources. As a result, Nigeria's federal government has chosen education as the most effective tool for achieving national development. The cost of infant education has risen to the point where the government is unable to fund it on its own. The government is now encouraging local communities, individuals, businesses, and others to contribute to education funding. To keep their children in school, parents sacrifice a lot of things. A significant quantity of money is raised for school use with the support of the government and these groups of people. Frequently, the quantity offered is insufficient. Despite these efforts, inadequate financial management practices remain one of the most important issues confronting educational institutions today. Teachers find it incredibly challenging to attain educational goals and provide the services that schools are now designed to provide. Inadequate funding could be the cause of the problem. It is self-evident that if funding were sufficient, enough educational materials would be supplied to motivate teachers to take constructive actions. At the same time, if money is mismanaged, teachers will fail to meet their responsibilities to the schools. Principals must therefore use whatever resources they have, particularly subventions, to inspire teachers in order to achieve what is desired in this period of self-reliance. To guarantee that teachers perform at their best, principals must inspire them by meeting their instructional and material demands.

  In this study, job performance refers to work or job performance. It also refers to the responsibilities and obligations that teachers must meet. Admission of students, categorization, registration, student welfare services, instruction, and evaluation of class work, reports to parents and guardians, co-curricular activities, and issues of student discipline are all listed by Whawo (1995). According to Ogunna (1992), workers' material requirements can be met through timely and adequate payment of salaries and fringe benefits. To ensure their devotion and dedication to their task, workers should be suitably compensated for their efforts. Nigeria's economy is so terrible (constant inflation and depreciation of the naira) that the government's education budget does not match school requirements. In order to incentivize instructors to carry out their tasks successfully and efficiently, schools are obliged to maintain existing services, pay staff salaries and allowances, purchase instructional materials, and meet other recurring expenses. According to Whawo (1995), instructors must be well compensated in order to be motivated. Teachers' ardour and enthusiasm should be maintained by providing them with sufficient perks, regardless of their location, gender, or teaching experience. As a result, the purpose of this research is to determine the link between secondary school administrators' financial (subvention) management practices and teachers' job performance.

1.2 Statement Of Problem

Principals, as school administrators, are obligated to equip teachers with the necessary instructional resources to encourage them to accomplish their duties to a fair degree. Teachers, on the other hand, are required to be dedicated to their work in order to achieve the school's aims and objectives. Whawo (1995) emphasizes that educational administrators' primary responsibility is to make full use of all available resources in order to achieve the goal for which schools were formed. Unfortunately, principals mismanage money given to schools under the guise of a subsidy in order to supplement their financial resources. As a result, teachers show evidence of dissatisfaction with their jobs, a loss of sense of success, physical breakdown, sadness, and a variety of vices (Amoo and Adenle, 2003). Teachers display laxity and truancy in their employment since principals are unable to offer educational resources. Many of them go to classrooms to teach at their leisure, are unconcerned with student discipline, and are uninterested in extracurricular activities, among other things.

The effects of good financial management tactics used by principals on teachers' task performance are still being studied. Is there a link between effective financial management practices and teachers' ability to teach? What is the relationship between financial management and teacher discipline of pupils and their involvement in extracurricular activities? This study's dilemma is posed by these issues.

1.3 Objective Of Study

The following are objectives of this study:

1. To assess the relationship between principles’ financial management strategies and teachers’ performance.

2. To examine the relationship between principals’ financial management strategies and teachers’ discipline of students.

3. To examine the relationship between principals’ financial management strategies and teachers’ involvement in co-curricular activities.

1.4 Research Hypotheses

The study will test the validity of the following hypothetical statement;

H01: There is no relationship between principals’ financial management strategies and teachers’ performance.

H02: There is no relationship between principals’ financial management strategies and teachers’ discipline of students.

H03:There is no relationship between principals’ financial management strategies and teachers’ involvement in co-curricular activities.

1.5 Significance Of Study

This study will therefore be significant in the sense that it will find out the relationship between effective financial management and teachers' job performance in secondary schools. The study will be beneficial to teachers because it will reveal to them those things that will be provided for them to be motivated and bring out their best. Teachers on their own will benefit from the study in that it will throw light on factors that may pose problems in financial management and as factors that impede teachers' task performance. Also, both the government and the public would see the need for more financial grants to schools, and monitor the usage to minimize mismanagement by principals.

This study will further add to the existing literature on this study domain and as well serve as a reference material for scholars, researchers, and students who may want to carry out further research on this topic or related area in the future.

1.6 Scope Of Study

This study is aimed at assessing the relationship between principals’ financial management strategies and its impact on teachers job performance. Financial management concentrates on government grants to education. Teachers’ task performance was investigated in terms of teaching performance, discipline of students and involvement in co-curricular activities.This study is therefore limited to Government Secondary schools, State Housing Estate, Calabar Municipality.

1.7 Limitation of study

Finance, inadequate materials and time constraint were the challenges the researchers encountered during the course of the study.

1.8 Definition of terms

Financial Management: Financial management refers to the strategic planning, organising, directing, and controlling of financial undertakings in an organisation or an institute.

Job Performance: Job performance assesses whether a person performs a job well. Job performance, studied academically as part of industrial and organizational psychology, also forms a part of human resources management.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

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