CHALLENGES FACED BY SCHOOL BOARDS IN MANAGING

COMMUNITY SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THE CASE OF

KITETO DISTRICT- MANYARA REGION OF TANZANIA

By

Jeremiah Dawite Sulley

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts in Education of the University of Dodoma

The University of Dodoma

October, 2016
 CERTIFICATION

The undersigned certifies that she has read and hereby recommends for acceptance

by the University of Dodoma a research dissertationentitled “The challenges faced by

school boards in managing Community Secondary Schools in Kiteto District,

Tanzania”in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in

Education of the University of Dodoma.

……………………………..

Dr.EnedyMlaki

(Supervisor)

Date: ……………………………..

i
 DECLARATION

AND

COPYRIGHT

I, Jeremiah DawiteSulley, declare that this dissertation is my own original work and

that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other university for a

similar or any other degree award.

Signature ……………………………………

No part of this dissertation may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the

author or the University of Dodoma.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am so grateful to our Almighty God for supporting me throughout the time of this

research. I am highly indebted to Dr EnedyMlaki my supervisor, for her enthusiastic,

tireless academic and intellectual support during the whole period of this study. Her

constructive comments and remarks in each section of this work kept me in the right

way. Also, I would like to thank my family; my beloved wife Elipendo, my son

Elishujaa, and my daughters Josephine and Joyce for their tolerance during my

absence

I also convey my sincere thanks to all my lecturers especially Dr Manase, J., Dr

Nemes J., andmy colleagues Mr Fabian, S. Mr. Aroko, A. for their cooperation,

encouragement, and support during the two year study at this university.

I am also grateful to my research participants; DSEO, school board chairpersons,

heads of schools, teachers representatives in the school boards and school board

members who showed cooperation and spent their time in the process of collecting

data making this study successful.

Finally, I am greatly indebted to the authorities of Manyara Region throughDistrict

secretariats for granting me permission to conduct my research in the District.

iii
 DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my father, Dawite Sulley and my mother

RaheliSaqware for their moral and material support during the course of my study.

iv
 ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by school
boards in managing community secondary schools in Kiteto district. Specific
objectives of the study were to: assess the awareness of school board members on
the roles of managing community secondary schools in Kiteto district; identify
challenges faced by school boards and suggest appropriate strategies to improve
school board roles in managing community secondary schools. The study
employed a cross-sectional research design dominated by qualitative research
approach and supported by some elements of quantitative approach. During data
collection, interviews, questionnaires, and documentary review were used to
gather relevant information. A total of 67 respondents from 6community
secondary schools were involved in this study. Stratified, simple random and
purposive sampling techniques were used in obtaining the sample of the
study.Datacollected from interviews and documentary reviews were analysed by
content analysis while those from questionnaireswere analysed using
SPSSversion 20 computer software and results were summarizedin percentages
and frequencies.The study was guided by scientific management and system
theories. The study found that to a large extent school boards are aware of their
roles that include; monitoring budget, controlling teachers and students
disciplines and ensuring availability of teaching and learning materials among
other roles. The performance of the school boards was greatly affected by lack of
sufficient funds, lack of training and poor cooperation between school boards and
other stake holders. The study concludes that, school boards play a fundamental
role in managing community secondary schools despite the challenges they face.
The studyrecommends that, specialtraining programmes should be planned in
order to capacitate school board members so that they can fully understand and
play their roles in managing community secondary schools more efficiently and
effectively.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION ......................................................................................................... i
DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT ........................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................................... iii
DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ iv
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ vi
LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... x
LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................. xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................... xii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION OF THE

STUDY ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background to the Problem .................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................... 5
1.3 General Objective of the Study .............................................................................. 6
1.3.1 Specific Objectives of the Study ......................................................................... 7
1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 7
1.5 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 7
1.6 Scope and Delimitation of the Study...................................................................... 8
1.7 Definition of Operational Terms ............................................................................ 8

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................... 10

2.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Theoretical Framework of the Study .................................................................... 10
2.1.1 The Scientific Management Theory .................................................................. 11
2.1.2 The System Theory ........................................................................................... 12
2.2 Review of Empirical Literature ............................................................................ 14
2.2.1 The Notion of Community Secondary Schools ................................................. 14
2.2.2 School Board Structures .................................................................................... 16
2.2.3 Accountability and Responsibility Structure of the Board ................................ 17
vi
2.2.4 Global Overview on the Use of School Boards in Managing Local Schools ... 17
2.3 Challenges Faced by School Boards in Managing Community Secondary
Schools ................................................................................................................ 24
2.3.1 Challenges in Curriculum and Instruction- Policy Implementation.................. 24
2.3.2 Challenges in Financial Management ............................................................... 25
2.3.3 Misunderstanding between the Roles of School Boards and Management
Team ................................................................................................................. 27
2.3.4 Low Academic Qualification among School Board Members ......................... 29
2.3.5 Challenges in Students Personnel Management ................................................ 31
2.3.6 Challenges in Promoting School -Community Relation ................................... 32
2.4 Overview of School Boards Studies from the Tanzanian Context ....................... 33
2.5 Expected Qualities of a Functioning School Board in the Tanzanian Context .... 35
2.6 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................ 36
2.7 Synthesis............................................................................................................... 38
2.8 Knowledge Gap .................................................................................................... 38

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................... 41

3.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 41
3.1 Research Design ................................................................................................... 41
3.2 Research Approach .............................................................................................. 41
3.3 Location of the Study ........................................................................................... 42
3.4 Target Population of the Study............................................................................. 42
3.5 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques ............................................................... 43
3.5.1 Sample Size ....................................................................................................... 43
3.5.2 Sampling Techniques ........................................................................................ 44
3.6 Instruments of Data Collection ............................................................................ 46
3.6.1 Interview............................................................................................................ 46
3.6.2 Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 47
3.6.3 Documentary Review ........................................................................................ 47
3.7 Validity and Reliability of the Instruments .......................................................... 48
3.8 Ethical Considerations.......................................................................................... 49
3.9 Data Analysis Plan ............................................................................................... 50

vii
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .. 51
4.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 51
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents ................................................ 51
4.1.1 Respondents‟ Category ..................................................................................... 53
4.1.2 Respondents‟ Gender ........................................................................................ 53
4.1.3 Respondents‟ Age ............................................................................................. 53
4.1.4 Educational Level of the Respondents .............................................................. 54
4.1.5 Working Experience of the Respondents .......................................................... 56
4.2 Presentation and Discussion of Findings Based on Research Objectives ............ 57
4.2.1 Awareness of school Board Members of their Roles of Managing Community
Secondary Schools ............................................................................................ 57
4.2.2 Challenges faced by School Boards in Managing Community Secondary
Schools .............................................................................................................. 71
4.2.3 Strategies to Address Challenges faced by School Boards in order to improve
their Roles to Manage Community Secondary Schools ................................... 84

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 93
5.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 93
5.1Summary of the Study ........................................................................................... 93
5.2 Summary of the Finding ....................................................................................... 94
5.3 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 95
5.4 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 96
5.4.1 Recommendations for Action ............................................................................ 96
5.4.2 Recommendations for Policy ............................................................................ 97
5.4.3 Areas for Further Research ............................................................................... 97
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 98
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 106

viii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 3. 1: Sampling Techniques and Sample Size ........................................... 45

Table 4.1 (a): Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents by Category,
Gender and Age ................................................................................ 52
Table 4.1(b): Respondents‟ Work Experience and Education Level ..................... 55
Table 4.2.1 (a): School Board Members Awareness of their Roles of Managing
Community Secondary Schools ....................................................... 58
Table 4.2.1(b): School Board Members Awareness of their roles of Managing
Community Secondary Schools ....................................................... 59
Table 4.2.1(c): Analysis on the Agenda Discussed in the School Board Meetings .. 68
Table 4.2.2 (a): Challenges faced by school boards in Managing Community
Secondary Schools (Item Ranking) .................................................. 72
Table 4.2.2 (b): Challenges faced by School Boards in Managing Community
Secondary Schools (Open ended Questionnaire) ............................. 73
Table 4.2.3: Strategies to Address Challenges faced by School Boards in order to
improve their Roles in Managing Community Secondary (Open
Ended Questionnaire) ....................................................................... 84

ix
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2. 1: Conceptual Frame Work ......................................................................... 40

x
 LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix I: Interview guide to Heads of Schools ................................................... 106

Appendix II: Interview Guide to Teachers Representatives in the School Boards .. 107
Appendix III: Interview Guide to School Board Chairpersons ................................ 108
Appendix IV: Interview Guide to DSEO ................................................................. 109
Appendix V: Questionnaires to School Board Members ......................................... 110
Appendix VI: Documentary Guide .......................................................................... 113
Appendix VII: The Government School Board (Establishment) Order (Section 38(1)
........................................................................................................ 115
Appendix VIII: Permission Letter from the University of Dodoma ........................ 120
Appendix IX: Permission Letter from DAS ............................................................. 121
Appendix X: Permission Letter from DED .............................................................. 122

xi
 LIST OFABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

BOG Board of Governors

BOM Board of Management

CMC Central Management Committees

DAS District Administrative Secretary

DED District Executive Director

DSEO District Secondary Education Officer

EFA Education for All

ETP Education Training Policy

MoEVT: Ministry of Education and Vocational Training

PTA Parent Teachers Association

REO Region al Education Officer

SBMC School Based Management Committee

SEDP Secondary Education Development Program

SGB School Governing Body

SMC School Management Committee

SMT School Management Team

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science

TSD Teachers Service Department

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UPE Universal Primary Education

URT United Republic of Tanzania

USA United State of America

WDC Ward Development Committee

WSDP Whole School Development Plan

xii
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION OF THE STUDY

1.0 Introduction

The aim of this study was to examine the challenges faced by school boards in

managing community secondary schools in Tanzania. Chapter one explains the

background to the problem, statement of the problem, purpose, objectives and

significance of the study.

1.1Background to the Problem

Education is a fundamental human right and a catalyst for economic growth and

human development (Okumuet al., 2008). According to the report by the Republic of

Kenya(2005), education is valued because it contributes to the national development

through the provision of appropriate human resource that helps to stimulate

productivity and eliminate hunger, poverty, disease, ignorance as well as creation of

opportunities for making and participating in decision making

The study by UNESCO (1994) revealsthat decentralization of planning,

management and control of' resources is often perceived as a means to improve the

quality of education and introduce an element of accountability in the school system

to the community. It is expected to result in improvement of school enrolment rates

and increased human resources. Similarly, decentralization has become popular in

the education sector because different governments of the world have experienced

problems providing centralized education services, including financial inefficiencies,

inadequate management capacity, and lack of transparent decision making, poor

quality and access to education services (World Bank, 2005)

1
Also, Magari (2005) points out that,review of school governance reveals that school

boards are becoming an increasingly important integral part of the school

management as educators begin to appreciate how crucial it is to empower the

participants in educational processes. In the United States of America (USA) for

instance, the provision of school boards became a requirement in Massachusetts laws

of 1827 and 1989 and was required to exercise general supervision over schools. The

boards were responsible for; disbursement of funds, certification of teachers,

recommendation of curricula, supervising buildings and maintenance of schools.

Similarly, the study conducted by Hess (2002) in the USA indicates that the greatest

challenge confronting school boards is to ensure that every child has the opportunity

to learn. Therefore boards must provide that opportunity while meeting the needs of

the communities they serve and taking care not to micromanage or to invade the

appropriate realm of professional educators.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, every state school has a School Governing

Board (SGB) which operates under the article of government or instruments of

management. They consist of various categories of governors depending on the type

and the size of the school, namely; the voluntary aided, voluntary controlled and the

country schools (Allan, 2006). They are in charge of school administration, strategic

planning, staff appointment and dismissal, accountability, staff review and appraisal.

Theyfurther monitor and evaluate performance, approve the school budget, set

strategic vision and aims, appoint the head teacher, act as a critical friend by

providing setting support and challenge and community cohesions and the school,

among others.

2
The study conducted by Mahlangu (2008) in South Africa indicated that, amongst

other things the school governing body was responsible for provisional maintenance

and administrative functions with regard to provincial educational institutions at the

local level. It also assisted the education department with regard to administrative

work at the local level. The findings show that the efforts made by the department of

education to provide training was regarded as inadequate to address the complex

problems experienced by SGB‟s hence the call for further study.

Furthermore, in South Africa, a number of educators felt that SGBs lacked

confidence and also were not sure about their duties and therefore depended on the

principal who uses his or her professional power and information advantage to the

SGB. This made them less effective in discharging their duties. Their lack of

effectiveness was attributed to lack of interest in the school, low levels of literacy

and lack of training (Van Wyk, 2007).

In Kenya, the management of education is done by different bodies at different

levels. For instance, at the institutional levels, school management committees

(SMC) and centre management committees (CMCs) manage primary schools while

board of governors (BOG) manage secondary schools and tertiary institutions and at

the university levels, the university council manage their universities (Mulai, 2011).

The study recommended that, despite the absence of explicitness in the law, review

of literature reveals that BOG is almost involved in every aspect of the school lifelike

in school finance management, recruitment of staff, maintenance of discipline,

improvement of school performance, salary review, quality standard assurance,

curriculum implementation, school development, raising funds for school project and

school welfare, among others (Onderi and Makori, 2012).

3
The study byKindiki (2009) reportsthat, in many schools BOG members were

incompetent in school management because majority of them had low level of

education and lacked the necessary skills and experience in education and therefore

were compromising their services to the schools.

The establishment of community schools in Tanzania is one of the major educational

reform in secondary education during the 1980s and 1990s.The 1995 educational and

training act No 10 defined a community secondary school as a school owned by local

community or owned by an institution on behalf of a community (URT 1995). In this

case, community secondary schools are basically established by the people at the

ward, division or District level before being transferred to central government for

supply of teaching and learning materials, teaching staff and administrators.

In addition, management of the schools is done by school committees for the primary

schools, and by school boards for the secondary schools. The two organs are legally

established by the Educational Act of 1978 as amended from time to time (URT,

1995.) The school boards are legally mandated by the ministry of education under

the National Educational Act, 1978 No. 25 section 38. Under this act, the school

board means a board established under section 38 for the purpose of supervising and

advising on the management of national schools. The Act was amended in the 1995

Education Act No. 10 whereby the name, national schools, was renamed as post

primary schools at the same time the concept of community school was introduced to

refer to schools owned by a local community or by an institution on behalf of the

community(Education Act, 1978 (25) and 1995 (10) ).

With the decentralization of the management and administration of secondary

schools, the school board is responsible for approving Whole School Development
4
Plans (WSDP) and budgets, and overseeing their implementation, advising District

Secondary Education Officer (DSEO) on schools management, advising DSEO and

Teachers Service Department(TSD) on disciplinary cases of teachers; demanding, on

a regular basis, accountability for students‟ performance; dealing with disciplinary

cases of students; and deliberating on quarterly school performance reports both

financial and physical.

The findings of the study by Masanja (2003) and Etuttu (2004) reveals that school

boards were performing minimally in advising the heads of schools in day to day

running of the school and were not involved in advising the commissioner of

education on educational policies.They do not function effectively, and are not

viewed by community stakeholders as institutions that can be engines for change or

agents for management of change. This study, therefore, attempts to assess the

magnitude of this problem so as to examine the challenges faced by school board in

managing community secondary schools and suggests on appropriate strategies to be

employed to redress the challenges in order to improve the roles of school boards in

managing community secondary schools.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Like many other developing countries, Tanzania has recently embarked on major

reforms in the education sector to enable local communities play an active role in

managing their schools. To achieve this goal, the government came up with the

policy of decentralisation by devolution enshrined in the general government

decentralization framework called the Local Government Reform Program (LGRP)

(Masue, 2010). Under this framework, various service provision responsibilities have

been transferred to the Local Government Authorities (LGAs) through the Prime

5
Minister‟s Office-Region al Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG).

These reforms envisage mainstreaming local communities into the management of

education that had for many years been centralised.

Under the reforms, school boards have the task of managing schools on behalf of the

community. However, their effectiveness has been questioned by many studies

indifferent countries. For example in Kenya, Kindiki (2009) reports that, secondary

schools Board of Management (BOM) lack management skills and therefore lack

supervisory competencies in utilizing available resources for managerial purposes.

Further, Mulaireport (2011) reveals that, educational institutions in Kenya are weak

because most of the BOM lack quality management capabilities

In Tanzania, Masanja (2003), Etuttu (2004) and Mrope (2011)reports that, school

boards are performing minimally in advising heads of schools on the matters

regarding the day to day running of the school.They report further that, school boards

are not involved in advising the commissioner of education on educational policies

and in approving the WSDPs and budget.The incompetence of the school boards in

managing secondary schools as by such scholars implies that, there are certain

challenges that accelerate the situation. Thus, the study at hand intends to investigate

such challenges in community secondary schools in Tanzania with a focus of Kiteto

District

1.3 General Objective of the Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges facedby school boards in

community secondary schools in Kiteto District.

6
1.3.1 Specific Objectives of the Study

Specific objectives of the study were to:

i. Assess the awareness of school board members of their rolesof

managing community secondary schools in Kiteto District

ii. Identify challenges faced by school boards in managing community

secondary schools

iii. Suggest appropriate strategies that can be used to address the

challenges faced by school boards in order to improve their roles in

managing community secondary schools

1.4 Research Questions

i. To what extent do the school board members aware of the roles of managing

community secondary schools in Kiteto District?

ii. What challenges faced school boards in managing community secondary

schools in Kiteto District?

iii. What appropriate strategies can be used to combatchallenges faced by school

boards in managing community secondary schools?

1.5 Significance of the Study

By exploring challenges faced by school boards in managing community secondary

schools, this studyhas generated knowledge that will be of relevance to different

stakeholders. Education policy makers in Tanzania are among the beneficiaries of the

results of this research. The findings will provides valuable information to education

policy makers on some factors hindering school board in the management of

community secondary schools. This will help the policy makers in terms of coming

up with intervention measures such as induction courses, in- service courses for

school boards, reviewing the mode / criteria of selecting the school board members to
7
ensure a competent and committed board that fully represents the Ministry for

effective management.

Secondly, as subjects of inquiry, members of school boards will use the results to

improve their performance through the understanding of challenges they face.

Thirdly, the findings could enable the school heads in Kiteto District and other parts

of Tanzania to understand the influence of school board as a crucial stake holder in

management and hence strive to work in harmony for the betterment of the school.

In addition, since parents, students and community at large are the key stakeholders

in the school, the study findings could help them comprehend the role and influence

of the school board members in school management. Finally, this study is to generate

knowledge and add to the existing body of literature on how to improve education

quality in community based secondary schools that are managed by school boards. In

this regard, researchers and academicians will have the opportunity to use this

information in their teachings and further research activities.

1.6 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by school boards in

managing community secondary schools. While the findings of this study can be

used by policy makers, researchers‟ and other educational stake holders, the study

was delimited to Kiteto District in Manyara Region. The study was conducted in six

community secondary schools only. Private schools were not included in the study.

Therefore, the findings can not be generalized to other Region s in the country.

1.7 Definition of Operational Terms

In this study, key terms used were defined in order to clarify some terms and avoid

unnecessary misconceptions

8
Challenges: Factors constraining effective management of community secondary

schools by school boards

School Board:Means a board established under section 38 of the Act 1995 for the

purpose of supervising and advising on the management of a postprimary school

Community secondary schools: Refers to schoolsbasically established by the

people at the ward supported by the central government through the provision of

teaching and learning materials as well as teaching staff.

Public school: Means any school maintained by Ministry of Education and

Vocational Training or by the local authority

Management:Refers to activities performed by school boards in setting the strategies

of community secondary schools to accomplish its objectives through the application

of available resources.

Student: Refers to a learner who is studying in community secondary schools from

form one to four.

9
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter describes the views of various scholars to the subject matter of inquiry

in this study. It analyzes theoretical and empirical literature related to challenges

faced by school boards in managing community secondary schools in Kiteto district,

Manyara-Tanzania.Specifically it discusses the literature on the governance of

schools through school boards globally and nationally, challenges associated with

managing schools through school boards. It also explains the management theories

that link to the subject matter of inquiry for this study such as scientific management

and system theories. Conceptual frame work was as well presented at the end of this

chapter.

2.1 Theoretical Framework of the Study

According to Aurbach and Silverstain (2003), theoretical framework is a set of

beliefs about psychological and formal process with which the researcher approaches

the study. The subject matter of inquiry in this research concerns the management of

community based schools through school boards. Specifically, the study investigates

the challenges faced by school boards that have a direct management function. From

the theoretical point of view, it is envisaged in this study that, management theories

provides an appropriate explanation on how institutions like community schools

could be managed. Further, the theory provides the opportunity to analyzethe

challenges and strategies associated with the management of these schools.

Specifically, this study adopted the scientific management and systems theories in

explaining the subject matter of the research.

10
2.1.1 The Scientific Management Theory

Many of the classical writers were concerned with the improvement of management

as a means to increasing productivity. A major contributor to this approach was

Fredrick Taylor (1856-1917) who is considered the father of scientific management.

Taylor considered that all work processes could be analyzed into discrete tasks and

that in scientific method, it was possible to find the best way to perform each task

(Dublin, 1989). Each job was broken down into component parts where each part

was timed and rearranged into the most efficient method of working. Taylor was

concerned with finding more efficient methods and procedures for coordination and

control of work. He set out a number of principles to guide management. These were

the development of true science for each person‟s work, the scientific selection,

training and development of the workers, co-operation with the workers to ensure

work is carried out in the prescribed way and the division of work and responsibility

between management and workers (Dublin, 1989).

He further believed that the workload would be evenly shared between the workers

and management with management performing the science and instruction and the

workers performing the labour, each group doing the work for which it was best

suited

This theory is applicable in the current study in that school board members in

community secondary schools in Kiteto District could be compared to workers in an

organization, whose participation should lead to efficient and effective operations of

the organization. For school boards to perform their roles effectively there was a

need for careful selection/ appointment of members, orientation and training as well

as co-operation as the theory emphasizes. In addition, the school boards being the

11
governing arm of the school, they should have a positive relationship with the school

management team, teachers, parents, and the entire community for efficient and

effective running of the school.

School boards will apply this theory in managing community secondary schools to

strengthened cooperation among different educational stake holders such as parents,

students, teachers and community at large. In addition, the theory will enable heads

of schools to adapt the principle of scientific selection of competent school board

members who will perform their work effectively. Similarly, the theory reminded the

government to deliver orientation and training to school board members for them to

efficiently and effectively perform their roles in managing community secondary

schools. However, the theory was criticized as it treats organizations as closed

system emphasizing its technical requirement and needs (Jude, 2015). Therefore,

school as an open system, interacts with theexternal environment.

2.1.2 The System Theory

The prominent scholar who founded system theory was Ludwig Von Bertalanffy

(1901-1972).Von Bertalanffy (1973),recognized the need of any organization to

interact with its external environment, unlike what was proposed by classical school

theorists like Max Weber, F. Tailor and Fayol who viewed organization as closed

system(Jude, 2015)

Every organized institution does not exist in a vacuum; it is rather known to depend

on its external environment, which is a part of a larger system such as the society

(Weihrich, 2008). According to the author, the organization receives inputs,

transforms them and releases the outputs to the environment.

12
Waring as cited in Jude (2015) defines a system at a simple level as a recognisable

whole, which consists of a number of parts (called components) that are connected

up in an organised way (the system‟s structure). These components interact, that is,

there are processes going on. The study by Mullins(2005) revealed that the systems

approach encourages organizations to be viewed both as a whole and as part of a

larger environment. This implies that any part of an organizational activity affects all

other parts. According to Gibson (1997), the concept of the organization as a system

that is related to a larger system, introduces the importance of feedback.

Organizations depend on the environment not only for its inputs, but for the

acceptance of outputs. Consequently, they must develop means for adjusting to

environmental demands.

The basic components of the system include the inputs from the external

environment may include people, capital, managerial skills as well as technical

knowledge of skills. It also includes the various claimants, that is, the groups of

people making demands on the organization; such as employees, consumers,

suppliers, stack holders and the government. In the context of this study, competent

school board members with managerial skills, teachers and parents are human

resources for effective school management. In addition, sufficient funds, community

support, stakeholder participation and training were other inputs required for

management of schools.

Also, in an organizational system, inputs are transformed in an effective and efficient

manner into outputs. With respect to this study, school boards should oversee

curriculum implementation, monitoring income and expenditure, controlling both

teachers and students discipline, improving school infrastructure, students‟

13
performance and approving the WSDPs and budget. Further, the effectiveness of the

processes is assed to determine its positives and negatives with the aim of making

improvements. In this case the school boards should ensure the effective use of

inputs which results to good morals of students and teachers, proper use of funds and

enhanced community relation as well as better academic performance.

The theory is useful to this study as it helps managers to look at the organization

more broadly. It also enabled managers to interpret patterns and events in the work

place by enabling them to recognize the various parts of the organization, and, in

particular, the interrelations of the parts. Effective management of the school boards

depend on the degree of interdependence, interactions and relationships that exit

within the school. Further, it depends on how different individuals, groups, teams and

departments are coordinated because success or failure of one part affects the whole.

2.2 Review of Empirical Literature

This section discusses the empirical works of other scholars who have attempted to

explore the subject matter from different angles and countries. It draws from the

global perspective to the national level in Tanzania. Very importantly was that, the

section attempts to find out how much was known regarding the subject matter of

inquiry in this research and what is not yet known. The section winds up with a

design of a conceptual framework which draws together ideas from different scholars

on the challenges that school boards face in managing community secondary of

schools

2.2.1The Notion of Community Secondary Schools

Practically, as countries confronted the challenges of EFA, the adoption of

community secondary schools was seen as the only alternative, with their flexibility
14
in programming and planning, offered as means to meet EFA goals, improve

students‟ achievement and reach out to remote, underserved and disadvantaged

population while keeping costlow. The community school movement of the 1990s

principally began in Africa but also elsewhere. It was seen as an exercise in the

delivery of every basic service; a stripped-down-curriculum, a shortened basic

education cycle, drumming up local support for schools so that poor people expand

much of their limited financial resources on the development of the secondary

education services (Machumu, 2011).

The idea of community schools originates in communities themselves coming to

their own awareness of their options for education and, primarily in their response to

those options Glassman 2007 as cited in (Machumu, 2011). In traditional colonialist

model, the community schools whether primary or secondary were designed to meet

the educational needs of students using curricula, language and materials that are

familiar to students and teachers at all and found around their surroundings.

As pointed out by Machumu (2011), community secondary schools in Tanzania at

first were implemented in 1970s when the government decided to nationalize private

secondary schools for the aim of abolishing racial discrimination which was left by

colonialists by that time. The second implementation took place in the 1980s and

1990s. This period had further changes in the history of community secondary

education in Tanzania. The first major change was the re-introduction of community

secondary schools as a response to the unprecedented increase of social demand for

secondary education following the implementation of Universal Primary Education

(UPE) (URT, 1995). The implementation of UPE has created unparalleled social

demand for secondary education. The government issued a circular in 1984 to initiate

15
a ten year programme for the expansion of secondary education. The programme

became effectively implemented in 1986 and was to be completed by 1995 with the

construction of 79 secondary schools which were to be distributed in such a way that

each Region was to build three schools. Essentially, community secondary schools

are government schools with divided responsibilities between local communities on

one hand and the central government on the other (URT, 1995).

In addition, community secondary schools are planned and run by the community in

which the children live. These community schools have been to means to a low-cost

of accessing education to the communities. Hence, community schools are ensuring

access to education for children who would not otherwise have had the opportunity

of attending school elsewhere in the country. For instance, community schools under

this category in Kenya are called “HarambeeSchools” and in Tanzania they are

famously known as “ShulezaKata” due to its nature of community involvement,

mobilization and contribution made its advancement. It is therefore very clear that,

the notion of establishing community secondary schools in Tanzania is a government

supported notion with the aim of enabling children to have access to affordable

education Machumu, (2011)

2.2.2 School Board Structures

The school board is the ultimate decision making authority for a school. Although a

board‟s power is limited by legal requirements and regulations, the board is the most

powerful entity within a school. Through their actions, policies, structures,

procedures and words, boards have all the power required to determine whether a

school succeeds or fails (Carver et al, 2006). According to Codrington (2014) boards

typically operate through a number of committees such as finance, compensation,

16
nominating and governance, audit and risk, facilities and advancement committees,

to name a few.

The purpose of committees is to scrutinise, research and develop proposals and data

in order to frame recommendations for consideration by the school board. When the

committee structure functions well and when committees have earned the trust of the

board as a whole, board meetings can operate quickly and efficiently, thus avoiding

becoming bogged down in tedious minutiae. However, it is important to remember

that committees do not make formal decisions. They review information and data in

order to make recommendations to the board, which has authority for decision

making on governance matters.

2.2.3 Accountability and Responsibility Structure of the Board

Each Board committee will usually receive reports from at least one member of

theSenior Management Team (SMT) at each meeting and will ask relevant questions.

This is how board committees exercise their role in governance. For instance, the

school bursar reports to finance committee on financial matters in school. School

boards ultimately run the school and determine its direction. The role of the head and

the management team is to run the day -to -day operations of the school in

compliance with the vision and direction established by the board. The work of the

head and the management team is conducted under what is in effect and the

delegated authority of the board (Codrington, 2014)

2.2.4 Global Overview on the Use of School Boards in Managing Local Schools

The governance of schools by school boards started in the USA almost 200 years

ago. In Massachusetts, local committees were set up to be responsible for education

17
in order to separate this authority from other municipal responsibilities (Danzberger,

1994). In addition, Beckham and Wills (2011) affirm that, local school boards have

been an integral feature of the USA public education system for nearly 200 years,

and are widely regarded as the principal democratic body capable of representing

citizens in local education decisions. The formal institutional roles assigned to school

boards, and the designated position board members play as representatives of the

community, would lead one to believe that the school board has a decisive role in

public education policy and school system administration. In the minds of many lay

citizens, school boards have considerable influence over educational decisions and

provide a key social and political connection to the schooling process.

Beckham (2011) further point out, that although research has affirmed the important

role that local school boards played in implementing educational reforms such as

student testing and graduation requirements, some critics have contended the

traditional leadership and policymaking roles that local school boards have been

compromised by bureaucratic intransigence, a tendency to micromanage school

system operations, and divisiveness caused by special interest groups. Powers usually

granted or implied to local school boards include the power to act as follows: Obtain

revenue; maintain schools; purchase sites and buildings; organize and provide

programmes of studies; employ necessary workers and regulate their services; admit

and assign pupils to schools and control their conduct; and purchase material and

supplies (Johnson at al, 1996).

Compared to countries like Tanzania, in America the powers and duties of school

boards vary from state to state. Also the powers and duties granted to boards of

education are granted to the boards as an entity, not to individual members.

18
Individual members of a board have no more authority in school matters than other

citizens of the community unless the school board legally delegates a task through

official action to specific members. In addition, the study by Cowell (2004) reveals

that school boards are responsible for planning, policymaking, monitoring,

communicating, and advocating, and for hiring the superintendent to whom they

should delegate responsibility for the day-to-day management of schools.

According to Galway(2013), inCanada, the authority of school boards is established

by provincial legislation which sets out the parameters, mandate, duties, and powers

of the boards. School boards are responsible for directing the activities of the school

District in terms of organization, strategic planning and operations, and

accountability for finances and student learning (Seel and Gibbons, 2011). School

board members do not hold administrative positions, but are members and

representatives of the public and are legally responsible for the organization (Shields,

2007). The school board functions as a legal entity which exercises its authority as a

single corporate body. Therefore, individual board members do not possess any

authority as individuals (Carpenter, 2007). In addition, Carpenter (ibid) reveals that

school board roles and responsibilities have changed and continue to be shaped and

marginalized by new accountabilities and new arrangements with provincial

governments

Similarly, in Scotland, school boards were created so as to involve parents in school

education matters at the individual school level. They provide an official forum for

the expression of parental views and give parents the opportunity to ask for

information about their school. School boards are composed of elected parents, staff

members and co- opted members from the local community (Briseid and Coillods,

19
2004). In China, local communities that are organized by villages have

responsibilities for school management and finance as part of the rural responsibility

system which liberalized the village economy and allowed rural communities, with

their increased income, to take over the funding and its control (UNDP, 1989).

According to Alexander et al (2001), school boards play vital roles in ensuring that

school academic performance is up held. The authors point out that, in most

countries, it is the local board that is charged with the responsibility to establish and

maintain a basic organizational structure for the local school system, develop

curriculum, appoint a superintendent and key members of the central office staff,

adopt an annual budget, and create a climate that promotes educational excellence.

Consequently, school boards initiate educational policies at the local level and have a

responsibility for implementing a variety of state and federal policies.

These boards provide important administrative oversight relative to the educational

policies and programs they institute; play a central role in establishing systems and

processes to ensure the school system's fiscal, programmatic, and outcome

accountability; and undertake broad human resource functions that include making

crucial decisions regarding the district's top-level leadership and key staff. Finally,

school boards provide leadership for the local school system, adopt a unifying vision

and mission, solicit and balance the participation and input of members of the

community, and advocate on behalf of the educational needs of children at the local,

state and national levels.

The Indonesian Education Act 20/2003 describes a school council as an independent

body established to provide technical advice, directions and support for personnel,

facilities and equipment, and monitoring of a school (Article 56). The power and
20
authority of a school council relates to its four major roles, which are: to be an

advisory agency in determining and/or approving educational policies at the school

level; serving as supporting agency in the school both in financial and non-financial

matters; functioning as controlling agency both for the purpose of transparency and

accountability at school level and to be a mediator between school, government, and

community on educational matters (Agustinus, 2008).

In Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Netherlands, the central governments enacted

appropriate legislation to decentralize power and authority with full autonomy to

schools to establish and operate managing bodies in partnership with the local

stakeholders to manage, regulate and take decisions on education policy matters;

curriculum and teaching methods; learners‟ evaluation; personnel selection, dismissal

and discipline; infrastructure; and other learning resources to guarantee the best use

of public funds; and the raising and judicious use of private funds for the overall

well-being of the citizen and production of quality outputs from the educational

institutions (Cook, 2007).

In Tanzania, the Tanzanian‟s Education and Training Policy (ETP) of 1995 put

emphasise on establishment of school boards and committees for management and

administration of schools and colleges. This is found in ETP (1995), Section 4.0 on

„Management and Administration of Education and Training‟ whereby subsection

4.9 demands that „all education and training institutions shall have school or college

committees/ boards‟. In addition to that, subsection 4.10 says „Boards and

committees of education and training institutions shall be responsible for

management, development, planning, discipline and finance of institutions under

their jurisdiction‟. Critical review of the above mentioned policy statements show

21
that school boards and committees are vital in enhancing good governance in

education and training institutions.

It should be noted that the local school board or committee is a vital connection

between community members and education institution. School boards or committee

members, whether they are elected or appointed by their communities, serve their

communities in several important ways, including representing the community‟s

beliefs and values. It is these representatives who are viewed by community

members as able to shoulder the responsibility for planning and executing education

and training programmes that are geared toward preparing children and other

community members to be responsible community members, as well as live

productive and satisfying lives. There are a number of reasons that the school board/

committee, which represent community‟s beliefs and values, should be the decision

maker in today‟s education and training institutions.

Firstly, the main agenda for school boards and committees is to ensure that education

and training provision is relevant to the needs of relevant community. It ensures that

children who go through such education and training obtain skills and knowledge

relevant to community needs. Secondly, as a representative of community, a school

board is the advocate for community when decisions are made about children‟s

education. The school board represents the public voice in education, provides

citizen governance for what the public schools need and what the community wants.

Thirdly, school board sets the standard for achievement in the district, incorporating

the community‟s view of what students should know and be able to do at each grade

level. Fourthly, school board is responsible for working with the superintendent to

22
establish a valid process for measuring students‟ success and, when necessary,

shifting resources to ensure that the district‟s goals are achieved.

Fifth, the school board is accountable for the performance of the schools in a district.

If the schools are not producing, it is the duty of community members to select new

board members who will ensure that students‟ and schools succeed and lastly, school

board is the community‟s education watchdog, ensuring that taxpayers get the most

for their tax dollars. In other countries, school boards have taxing authority. That is

direct oversight, and responsibility, should not be given to politicians whose first

priority is something other than education.

A study on empowerment and effectiveness of school committees in Tanzania

conducted by Masue (2010) revealed that, the majority (78%) of the school

committee members were primary school leavers or below, a phenomenon attributed

to lack of interest of the educated to become members of school committees. While

there was trivial difference between the rural and urban school in terms of committee

members' understanding of their responsibilities, the committee members from the

two committees were adequately informed about their roles.

In addition, there was high consistency between the level of education and role

accomplishment capabilities. That is, members with fairly high educational

qualifications indicated that they were competent enough to accomplish their roles.

Those who had low educational qualifications declared that they were not competent

enough to accomplish most of the skill-demanding roles like planning and budgeting.

Inadequacy of financial resources was pervasive in either case, constraining

successful implementation of school development plans.

23
Overall, school boards have a great number of responsibilities which actually

determine the success of the schools. Hence, if all these activities are not well

implemented, the ultimate result is that schools will fail to meet the expectation of

the community and the government.

2.3 Challenges Faced by School Boards in Managing Community Secondary

Schools

Several studies have been conducted globally pertaining to the challenges faced by

school boards in managing secondary schools

2.3.1 Challenges in Curriculum and Instruction- Policy Implementation

This entails drawing and articulating the government policies on education in the

school including curriculum & instruction. According to the study done in Kenya by

Magiri (2005), BOGs were not effective in articulating / implementing policies due

to low academic qualifications among some members and manipulations by head

teachers due to ignorance and personal interests. Further, members had not read the

legal document to know the mandate and only thought their role was to ensure school

produced God-fearing students and loyalists to the political system of the day. He

further adds that policy formulation and implementation posed a challenge to the

BOGs. This is partly because policies are either school based or MOE formulated

and required to be articulated correctly if goals and objectives of education are to be

achieved.

In addition, the study by Xaba (2011) in South Africa on challenges faced by SGB in

managing secondary schools reveals that, SGB faced difficulties in policy

development, formulation and implementation. To him, this was attributed mainly to

parent-governors‟ low education levels and lack of knowledge regarding the

24
implementation of policies. As the results, SGB relies on the inputs of educators in

the drawing up and implementation of policies. In this regard the SGB acted as a

“rubber stamp”. Parents also expressed a feeling that, due to their lack of know-how,

they relied on educators to draw up school policies, even though educators

sometimes took advantage and make policies to suitteachers.

The findings above by Xaba have been supported by Ayeni (2012) who

recommended that the operation of the SBMC is also faced with the challenges of

low administrative capacity of key members of the SBMCs; poor attendance of

members at meetings due to lack of incentives and financial support from the

government; lack of cooperation from the school managers; teachers‟ misconception

of the role of the SBMC as an interference on their profession and Parent Teachers

Association (PTA) role conflict and resistance to the SBMC initiatives,

2.3.2 Challenges in Financial Management

Mestry (2004) highlights an important challenge in SGBs, namely, lack of the

necessary knowledge and skills for financial management and consequently the

inability to work out practical solutions to practical problem. The study

recommended that, for the SGB to effectively manage finance in schools, adequate

training is needed in this area. In addition,Xaba (2011) asserted that, financial

management was clearly and by admission from all the participants, a real challenge.

There were problems with budgeting, balancing expenditure and budgeted income,

using correct procedures regarding the use of finance and deviations from the budget.

Participants‟ accounts pointed to poor or no financial management savvy at schools.

The study reveals that, SGB do not have anybody who is qualified, who has

enoughexpertise in the financial management area, budgeting and accounting.

25
In Kenya, the BOGs are mandated by the Education Act to audit and regulate

expenditure by the school to ensure that all the income received by the school is

applied for the promotion of the objects of the school. These statutes presume that

members of the board are knowledgeable in law, human resource management,

supply chain management, accounting and project management. Unfortunately these

skills are not present in the managers and that is where the main problem in the

management of public school lays (Stevens, 1995).

According to Okumbe (2011), the financial management is concerned with the cost

of education, sources of income to meet the education costs and the spending of the

income in an objective manner in order to achieve the educational objectives. This

poses a great threat and challenge to the institutional managers because as many

researchers have emphasized, the cornerstone of any enterprise is the finance without

which no programme however well planned, can take off. In addition, the study by

Douglas (2013) reveals that majority of the BOGs had not undergone training on

financial and school management. Other challenges include inadequate facilities,

insufficient funds and generally inability to manage the schools due to lack of clear

cut roles. The findings also indicated that, these challenges in secondary school

management were manifested by way of registering poor performance, students‟

indiscipline and stalled infrastructure development.

In addition, lack of staff houses in schools also had a negative impact on the schools

overall performance as it reduced the student – teacher contact time / hours. The

shortage of teachers too had an adverse effect especially in schools with staff

shortages as the schools were forced to spend the meagre funds to pay the teachers.

26
The study recommended that, appointment to the BOG should be pegged at the level

of good education of at least the diploma level considering that there are many

educated persons around today. Therefore, graduates should be given the highest

priority. Besides, people engaged in busy offices should be exempted from such

appointment as they ended up giving lip services to the institutions to which they

were appointed. Rather, priority should be given to alumni‟s and local qualified

persons as well persons who were professionals in education. BOG members should

be inducted or professionally trained in financial and school management.

Furthermore, the study by Wangai as cited in (Douglas 2013) asserted that most of

the board members lack the financial powers and others have vested interests in the

procurement of supplies. This means they can be comprised and it exposes them to

manipulation.

2.3.3 Misunderstanding between the Roles of School Boards and Management

Team

According to Bianchi (2003), Pennsylvania state law does not clearly set forth the

responsibilities of boards and superintendents and arguably fails to recognize the

appropriate roles of boards and administrators. Therefore, the study recommended

that, the general assembly should amend the school code to provide comprehensive

statements of school board and superintendent roles, with the board focused on

governance and policymaking and the superintendent focused on educational

leadership and policy implementation. This orientation should focus on school law,

the duties of board membership, and ethical behaviour of board members. Also the

General Assembly should require each school board member once seated to

periodically participate in continuing professional development that focus on

27
effective boardsmanship; education governance; finance; standards assessment, and

accountability.

In England, the study by Balarin et al., (2008) andJames et al.(2012) reveals that

school governing is largely hidden from public view and its low profile has three

aspects: Firstly, the significance of the responsibility is not widely acknowledged as

the attention accorded to school governing board in policy terms has not been

substantial, especially in comparison with other aspects of the education system.

Secondly, the role of the governing body is not clearly understood as the lack of

„policy attention‟ may have resulted in some uncertainties about the precise nature of

its responsibility and arguably an overloading of the range and scope of the

responsibilities (Balarinet al., 2008). Thirdly, contribution of governing bodies is not

widely recognized as there are approximately 350,000 school governors in England

who bring considerable expertise to the governing task on a voluntary basis (James et

al., 2012).The study recommended that, the confused and confusing specification of

the role over time and the terms used to specify it have not helped governing bodies

fulfil their responsibilities.

Also having a wide range of stakeholders on the governing body is important and

beneficial, particularly in culturally diverse settings to ensure different groups of

stakeholders are represented appropriately, but governing bodies also need the right

kind of skills and capabilities. It also suggests that, the role of the chair is important,

especially taking the responsibility for ensuring the proper functioning of the

governing body. That responsibility should be more clearly defined in

statute(Balarinet al., 2008)

28
In Bangladesh for instance, poor output performance effectiveness at the local

authorities was attributed to (along with some institutional factors such as weak

accountability mechanisms) the local authorities‟ staff, lacking the requisite

qualifications in terms of skills and experience to take over the new responsibilities

(Crook and Manor cited in Masue (2010)

The study done by Xaba (2011) reports that some parents felt that they were

hamstrung by not being able to deal with matters of educator misconduct and learner

discipline. They felt that to assist the school, it would be more effective to allow

them to be involved in such matters as governors and parents. For instance, some

SGB members report that, as governors, they cannot charge an educator for the use

of corporal punishment since it is a professional matter and not a governance matter.

Unfortunately, they only report to the principal and more often than not, these

matters remain unresolved or take time to be resolved.

The findings of the study reveal that, because most SGB members were not educated,

they could not distinguish between governance and professional management roles.

In addition, the study emphasised that since there were overlaps in the two roles,

there were often challenges in areas such as disciplinary action against staff members

and the day-to-day running of the school, for example, because these roles were often

confused in terms of governance and management.

2.3.4 Low Academic Qualification among School Board Members

In Indian secondary schools, the operation of the School Based Management

Committee (SBMC) is faced with a number of problems (Pushpanadham, 2000). The

study reveals that SBMC members have limited knowledge of school budget,

physical plant, personnel policy issues, conflict resolution and other statutory matters
29
in which they are expected to offer professional and technical inputs in decision

making and performance evaluation for sustainable improvement in the school

system. These noticeable gaps in administrative capacity of SBMC are major

challenges to school effectiveness.

Another challenge, articulated by Van Wyk (2004) relates to educators in SGBs

feeling that other SGB members, that is, parent-governors lack confidence and are

not sure of their duties. In this regard, Maile (2002) contends that illiteracy among

SGB members, especially parent-governors, may contribute to their own inefficiency

and argues that this is possible because illiteracy precludes parents from accessing

relevant information. To this end and in relation to the problem of illiteracy, Van

Wyk (2004) points out that many SGBs, particularly in less advantaged areas do not

have the required skills and experience to exercise their powers. . Among other

training constraints, Mabasa and Themane (2002) report that SGBs were not trained

before they start their work and this manifests in problems such as unfamiliarity with

meeting procedures, problems with the specialist language used in meetings,

difficulties in managing large volumes of paper, not knowing how to make a

contribution, not knowing appropriate legislation, feeling intimidated by the presence

of other members who seem knowledgeable and perceiving their roles as simply

endorsing what others have already decided upon. This can be attributed to irrelevant

and inadequate training of SGB members, which does not really address the core

functions of school governance.

A study by Mutinda (2015) in Kenya revealed that challenges faced by school boards

are categorized into two. These challenges include those within the board itself and

those outside the board but their existence impacts on the performance of the schools.

30
The challenges that were considered to be within the board include; gender

imbalance, inadequate funds for board activities, low academic qualifications of

board members, low and lack of sufficient experience of board members, as well as

the I don‟t care attitude among some board members.

On the other hand, the challenges outside the board but which have direct impact on

school board performance were identified as inadequate staff in schools, limited

instructional materials in schools, indiscipline among students, and school staff, low

and at time lack of staff motivation, inadequate funding to the schools and inadequate

learning facilities in schools. Hence, the study bythe GOK as cited in (Douglas,

2013) reported that, BOGs should be inducted /trained when appointed and taken for

refresher workshops regularly to refine their management skills; appointment of

BOGs should be made from competent people with requisite professional skills,

academic qualifications and knowledge of some school management issues

2.3.5 Challenges in Students Personnel Management

Students are the key stakeholders within the school. They are the direct consumers of

the programmes in the schools and are therefore the performance indicator of the

school and the nation. Managing the students effectively is, therefore, vital in the

overall management of a school. As emphasized by Okumbe (2001), the pupil is the

reason for the school‟s existence. It should be borne in mind that whatever duties,

tasks or roles that board members are charged with, the main concern and the

immediate beneficiaries are the pupils.

Okumbe (2001) states that the head teacher (as board secretary) has the following

sub-tasks to perform: guidance and counselling, discipline of students, student‟s

welfare and special services, students inventory, files and attendance, enrolment and

31
participation, and appointment of students leadership system. As revealed in many

studies, major problems existing in this area relates to students‟ deviant behaviour

manifesting itself in general indiscipline seen through mob actions, truancy and drug

and substance abuse. On the issue of discipline, Douglas (2013) noted that school

boards had encountered many challenges trying to shape students who were already

shaped by the society and contemporary issues. Such students did not want to listen

to advice and many of them reacted against the discipline being enforced (Mumo,

2004). Other problems in dealing with students personnel are related to family

problems affecting pupils such as poverty among parents, lack of parental concern,

single parenthood, divorce, orphanage as a result of AIDS epidemic and separation

among others. The BOG is thus posed with a great challenge to ascertain that proper

guidance and counselling is taking place

2.3.6 Challenges in Promoting School -Community Relation

Promoting school -community relation entails enhancing school community linkage

and partnership that is, the good general conduct of the school. The school being a

social system is expected to interact well with the community and the environment

around it. School boards, therefore, act as a link between the school and the

community. For instance, the study done by Hess (2002) inUSA suggests that the

greatest challenge confronting school boards is to ensure that every child has the

opportunity to learn.

The study reveals that a vast majority of respondents have received training in most

areas of board operations especially board member roles. Also, one in five board

members needed training in areas such community collaborations/partnerships, and

community engagement but as Allan (2006) puts it; whose interests do the Governing

Bodies represent? Also, given the today‟s diversity, whose voices are heard most

strongly? How committed are the BOGsin marshalling the interests of the
32
community they serve? How is their attitude towards the school and the community?

What is the relationship between actions of the BOGsand the quality of service

rendered or provided by the school? That is, how is quality defined by different stake

holders? What sort of stances and actions by BOGsenhances quality? It is important

to address these concerns because as Allan (2006) portends governors are

conceptualized as occupying a bridging role between three different ideals, namely;

Perform managerial, monitoring and evaluation role to maintain standards, acts to

transform national policy into relevant and appropriate local change, democratically

represent the local people and what they want to be done for their school.

In Nigeria, the study by Ayani (2013) on School-Based Management Committee‟s

(SBMC) in Nigerian secondary schools reveals the major challenges faced

byeffective operation of SBMCs as lack of cooperation from the schools; and PTA‟s

resistance to the SBMC initiatives. These resulted in ineffective school management

and low level of students‟ academic achievement

2.4 Overview of School Boards Studies from the Tanzanian Context

In Tanzania, the studies done by Mrope (2011) on effectiveness of board governance

on academic institutions reveals that majority of the board members are not aware of

their duties and are not given induction course when they are first appointed as board

members. In addition, majority of the teachers were not committed to their role of

teaching students which led to poor performance in internal and external exams.

Further more,most of the school boards do not have the essential board committees

like audit committee (absent for 70%), finance committee (absent for 25%) and

strategic committee (absent for 100%), and in those boards that possess these

committees they were found inactive. The study recommended that the government,

through its ministry of education, should make a close follow up to ensure that the
33
school boards are up to standard and are formulated as per the regulations and that

the members have the required qualifications and that necessary board committees

are in place and functional. Similarly, Etuttu (2004) observed that school boards were

not fully involved in every issue that occurs at school. They are in most cases

convened to endorse like rubber stamps what the school administration thought was

the ideal decision. Etuttu explained further that detailed financial reports, which

otherwise would disclose the school‟s status, was in most cases kept secret.

According to Masanja (2003), school boards have a minimal position in advising the

commissioner of education on education policies and heads of school on the day - to

- day management. In addition, school boards were not functioning well in setting

school objectives and implementing and evaluating school plans while functioning

minimally in identifying school needs and setting the priorities of schools. He further

explained that it was difficult for school board members to advise school heads and

the commissioner while they are not aware of various circulars, Acts and other

documents.

Masanja (ibid) observes that the majority of school committees do not have

important documents such as the Education Act of 1978, the national Education

Corporal Punishment Act of 1979, Education and Training Policy of 1995 and

important circulars such as School Board (Establishment) order No. 446 of 2002.

Furthermore, URT (1997) came up with the following observations: Committee

members, who were often not trained, have no skill in management, development,

planning, discipline and finance. Thus, school committees are not functioning well.

Some members of the community who are elected to the school committee are

illiterate. No clear roles are defined for the school committee so as to enable them to

34
function well. They also mentioned that the composition of the school committee is

gender biased in favour of males

2.5 Expected Qualities of a Functioning School Board in the Tanzanian Context

According to Hakielimu‟s brochure titled „What is a School Committee/Board?‟ the

school committee/Board is the overall in charge of the school. Its key roles are

summarised as follows: to sensitise, involve and effectively communicate

educational information to all parents, students, community stakeholders and to local

authorities; to advise the head of schools on the day-to-day affairs of the school,

including approval and implementation of the WSDPs and budget; to open bank

accounts and to efficiently and effectively manage funds received for

implementation, while guaranteeing maximum accountability and transparency in the

processes used, including making incomes and expenditures publicly available; to

approve and submit accurate and timely progress and financial reports to the

community, ward and council. This means school committees/boards are empowered

to mobilize the community to reflect on the major challenges regarding quality

education for all, and to find practical solutions within overall government

guidelines.

Board effectiveness can be defined as the success of the board in fulfilling its

purpose, which is to governthe school. This role is clearly separate from the role of

the head and the senior management of the school, which is to manage the school

(Ariely, 2010).

Governance is the board‟s legal authority to exercise power and authority over an

organisation on behalf of the community it serves and it is a collective, or group

action” (Board Source, 2010). Similarly the findings of this study reveal that the

separation of governance and management lies at the heart of effective leadership in

35
schools. At its most basic level, the board‟s role is to set the mission, vision and

direction for the school, and ensure that these are achieved, while the head‟s role is to

ensure that the mission, vision and direction as set by the board are implemented

effectively. In this way, governance and management work coherently in teamwork

to achieve common goals that enhance the welfare of the students, parents, and staff

to the greatest extent possible. The study recommended that, if the roles of

governance and management are clearly defined and articulated as a separation of

responsibilities working towards a common goal, a key foundation for effective

board operations will have been established.According to Nyirenda (2014), in order

for a school committee or board to be effective, it needs to have effective members.

2.6 Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework consists of concepts, assumptions, beliefs and theories that

inform a research (Sitko, 2013). It brings together views or ideas from various

scholars regarding the subject matter of inquiry in a research. This study was guided

by assumptions adapted from Stafflebeam‟s CIPP model. C= context, I= input, P=

process, and P= product. The CIPP model is a framework for guiding evaluations of

programs, projects, personnel, products, institutions, and evaluation systems

(Stufflebeam, 2003).

The first stage is the context. This stage assists in decision-making related to

planning, and enables the evaluator to identify the needs, assets, and resources of a

community in order to provide programming that will be beneficial (Fitzpatrick et al.,

Mertens and Wilson, 2012). In the school context, the school boards make evaluation

assessment on what is needed by school, the opportunities the school has,

involvement of stake holders such as parents, teachers, students and community.

36
The second stage is the input. Input is what is put in to the program. It is the

strategies, activities, and procedures or plans of action and resources that are set to

support the achievement of the goals and objectives identified in the needs. It

answers the question that: how should strategies and activities be implemented?

What budgeting plans have been adopted and to what extent does this plan meet the

needs of the program (Stufflebeam, 2003, 2007). In this study, the school boards

were supposed to plan for effective use of human resources such students, teachers

and parents and physical resources including teaching and learning materials, funds

as well as school infrastructure for effective management of schools

The third stage is the process. The process part has the role of investigating the

quality of the programs implementation. It is where the program activities are

monitored, documented, and assessed (Fitzpatrick et al., 2011; Mertens and Wilson,

2012). The primary objectives of this stage are to provide feedback regarding the

extent to which planned activities are carried out, guide staff on how to modify and

improve the program plan, and assess the degree to which participants can carry out

their roles. In this study, this stage guided the researcher to see if the school boards

were aware of their roles regarding what is happening in schools, identifying

challenges faced bythem and the strategies to be put in place to redress the

challenges. Therefore, school boards should oversee curriculum implementation,

monitoring income and expenditure, controlling both teachers and students

discipline, improving school infrastructure, students‟performance and approving the

WSDPs and budget.

The fourth stage is the product. The product/output stage aimed to assess the positive

and negative effects the program had on its target audience (Mertens and Wilson,

2012), assessing both the intended and unintended outcomes (Stufflebeam, 2003). In

37
this study, the researcher wanted to assess if the school boards were aware of

measuring, evaluating and judging the extent to which their schools were effectively

managed regarding students‟ discipline, discussing local and national examinations,

proper allocation of school funds among others. In addition, school boards ensure

improved students‟ performance, adequate teaching and learning materials and

produce students with good discipline. For The conceptual framework, refer figure

2.1

2.7 Synthesis

Overall, literature indicates that the use of school boards is vital in effective

management of community schools. However, the success of these school boards

depends on how they overcome challenges they face, how they undertake their

functions and opportunities that are available to them. Literature also indicates that

school boards must have certain qualities that they possessed in order to function

effectively and support schools in their endeavour of providing quality education

2.8 Knowledge Gap

The literature review from both developed and developing countries revealed that

school boards play a crucial role in managing community schools in the areas such as

student achievement, resource allocation, and funds management to mention the few.

In addition, the review revealed that in both developed and developing countries,

school boards face a number of challenges in managing community schools. These

includechallenges in curriculum and instruction- policy implementation, financial

management, misunderstanding roles about school management and professional

issues, low level of education among school board members, students‟ personnel

management, and challenges in promoting school -community relation.

38
Furthermore, in developing countries some findings reveals that there is a lack of

collaboration between head of schools and members of school boards, and most of

the schools suffer from inadequate funds for school boards to perform their duties. In

this case adequate training, orientation for the newly appointed members of school

boards and adequate professional development were the recommended steps in

improving the performance of school boards in managing secondary schools.

However, these findings can not be generalized in the Tanzanian context as the

environments in which school boards operate differ from place to place. Further

more, in Tanzania the literature review revealed that several studies such as those of

Mrope (2011) on effectiveness of board governance on academic institutions,

Masanja (2003) and Etuttu (2004) on the functioning of school boards have been

done. In this regard hardly there are studies, if any that have been conducted on

investigating the challenges faced by school boards in managing community

secondary schools. This study therefore entails to investigate these challenges

particularly in Kiteto District and come up with the immediate measures to redress

them.

39
Figure 2. 1: Conceptual Frame Work

IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL BOARD ROLES IN

MANAGING COMMUNITY SECONDARY SCHOOLS

 Identify school needs

Context  Alternative opportunities
 Asses the environment
 Rank goals

 Sufficient funds
Input  Qualified board members
 Community support
 Stake holders participation
 Regular training

 Curriculum implementation
 Controlling staff and students
Process discipline
 Improving academic
performance
 Regular meetings
 Community involvement

Effective school board Ineffective school

management board management
 Proper use of funds  Misuse of funds
 Good moral of staff  Truancy
Impact and students  Poor stake
 Good exams result holders
 Improved school- cooperation
community relation
 Poor exams
results

Feedback

Source:Stufflebeam, (2003) Modified by the Researcher.

40
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This section describes the methodological procedures that were used in the process of

data collection and analysis. It particularly focused on the research design, research

approach, area of the study, population of the study, sample and sampling

procedures, research instruments and administration, validity and reliability of the

instrument, ethical considerations and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

According to Kothari (2004), research design is the conceptual structure within

which research is conducted. Also, it provides a framework for the collection and

analysis of data (Kelly, 2011). In addition according to Kombo and Tromp (2006),

descriptive design focuses on information about people‟s attitudes, opinions, habits

or any of the various educational or social issues of the study. Descriptive survey is a

method of collecting information by interviewing or administering questionnaire to a

sample of individuals (Orodho, 2003).This study employed cross-sectional survey

design. The design was applied as it enabled the researcher to get different views and

opinions from the respondents concerning the challenges faced by school boards in

managing community secondary schools in Tanzania.

3.2 Research Approach

This study was mainly qualitative and supported by quantitativeresearch approaches

in exploring and analyzing the data. According to Kothari (2004), qualitative

research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, that is, phenomena relating to or

involving quality. Qualitative type of research aims at discovering the underlying

41
motives and desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. Therefore, in this

approach, the researcher obtained deep description of the data from the area of study

through semi- structured questionnaire, semi- structured interview, and documentary

review.The approach helped in getting an in-depth understanding of challenges and

opportunities available to the school boards based on the perception of those who

were interviewed.The researcher preferred to use qualitative approach for the reasons

that, it helps to obtain first hand information from selected respondents. On the other

hand, Kothari (2004) asserts that quantitative research is based on the measurement

of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms

of quantity.

3.3 Location of the Study

Kiteto is one of the 5 districts of the Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to

the north by the Simanjiro District, to the east by the Tanga Region and to the south

and west by Dodoma Region. The focus of the study was community secondary

schools in Kiteto District council. Kiteto District has 16 community secondary

schools and a private owned secondary school. The study was intended to establish

challenges faced byschool boards in the management of community secondary

schools. Likewise, the choice of the District was mainly due to the factno such study

had been conducted in the District hence the need to fill the gap.

3.4 Target Population of the Study

A population is a group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples

are taken for measurement for example a population of teachers, students or books

(Mugo, 2002). In addition, Orodho (2002) states that all the subjects under concern in

any field of investigation represent a universe or targeted population. It includes all

42
members, groups or elements that the researcher hopes to gather information from

and from which he/she draws conclusions. In Kiteto District, there are 16 community

secondary schools. These schools has a population of 4876 students in Ordinary

level, 192 school board members, 16 head of schools (DSEO‟s Office,2016).The

target population in this study therefore include,16 community secondary schools in

the District, the school boards members, school board chair persons, teachers‟

representatives in school board, the head of schools as well as the DSEO. From this

target population, the researcher collected useful information pertaining to the

challenges faced byschool boards in managing community secondary schools.

3.5 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques

3.5.1 Sample Size

A sample is referred to as a selected portion of the individuals or items that represent

the aggregate of the population for the study (Cohen et al., 2000). The use of a

sample in conducting research may be necessitated by some physical, social and

economic constraints that surround the researcher.

From this point of view, the study involved 8 (2 females and 6 males) school board

members out of 12 in 6 community secondary schools to make a total of 48(12

females and 36 males), 6 board chairpersons, 6 heads of schools, 6 staff

representatives in school boards from selected schools and a DSEO to make a total of

67 respondents.

The researcher included each category of informants for the following reasons.

School board members‟ were included to obtain proper information concerning

challenges faced byschool boards as they are aware about board routines and being

the representatives of the parents and local community. The school board
43
chairpersons are useful resources as they are monitoring school board meetings and

had opportunities to interact with different educational stake holders including the

government. The head of schools are the secretaries of the school board meetings and

the overall of the SMT therefore being involved in this study contributed useful

information regarding the ways by which school boards operates, challenges they

faced as well as the strategies employed to improve the management of community

secondary schools through school boards.

Teachers‟ representatives in school boards provided appropriate information about

the views and perceptions of teachers towards boards‟ performances. They also

represented different views regarding students‟ needs and challenges in order to

improve teaching and learning processes. Finally DSEO was involved in the study to

obtain data about the ways by which school boards operates, the challenges they face

and strategies to overcome them. In addition, the DSEO has enough information

about board activities because they supervise and monitor all secondary schools in

the district.

3.5.2 Sampling Techniques

Sampling is a process of selecting a number of individuals or objects from a

population such that the selected group contains elements representative of the

characteristics found in the whole group (Orodho and Kombo, 2002). Kombo and

Tromp (2006) asserted that, in probability sampling, people, places, or things are

randomly selected. In the study, probability sampling techniques such simple random

and stratified techniques were applied. In simple random sampling, each member of

the population under study has an equal chance of being selected and the probability

44
of a member of the population being selected is unaffected by the selection of other

members of the population (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2007).

Respondents such as heads of schools, teachers‟ representatives in school boards, and

school board chairpersons were randomly chosen from the selected community

secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to getDSEO due to his position

hence relevant information regarding school boards challenges were achieved.

Stratified sampling technique was employed to get 6 community secondary schools

whereby schools were grouped into urban and rural strata. From each

stratum,1school and 5schools were randomly selected to make a total of 6 schools.

The rationale for employing this ratio was that, in each location the ratio between

urban schools to ruralone was 1: 5 respectively. Similarly, school board members

were stratified into male and female strata for each selected schools where by from

each stratum 2 females and 6 males were randomly selected. The ratio used was due

to the reason that, the ratio between male and female members is 1:4 in almost all

schools

Table 3. 1:Sampling Techniques and Sample Size

Category of Respondents Selection Targeted

Procedures Respondents
DSEO Purposive 1
Head of Schools Simple random 6
Teachers representatives in Simple random 6
school boards
School board chair persons Simple random 6
School board members Simple random 48
Total 67

45
3.6 Instruments of Data Collection

In this study, three research instruments were used in collecting both primary and

secondary data. These include an interview checklist, questionnaire and documentary

review. The purpose of employing a number of instruments was to understand the

situations in depth also to avoid bias (Creswell, 2003)

3.6.1 Interview

According to Cohen (2007), an interview is described as a conversation between two

or more people initiated by the interviewer for the purpose of obtaining research-

relevant information focusing on the content specified by research objectives. In this

study, semi-structured interview was used to collect data from heads of schools,

school board chair persons, teachers‟ representatives in school boards and DSEO. In

developing good interview, the researcher designed clear, easy and short questions

and avoid jargon. The researcher adjusted the language of the interview according to

the respondents. In this case, the researcher used Swahili for members of school

boards as the majority were not conversant with English language. On the other hand

English were used for the rest of the respondents. Also the interview questions were

arranged from simple to complex to attract the attention of the interviewee.The

technique was employed due to its flexibility of seeking more clarification whenever

needed. The guide was designed to obtain information from the respondents

regarding their awareness on their roles, challenges they face and strategies to

overcome them. The researcher recorded the information in a note book. In addition,

the interviewer may stray from the guide when necessary but without losing direction

of the conversation (Kopweh, 2014 and Wood, 2011).

46
3.6.2 Questionnaire

Questionnaire is a systematically prepared form on document with a set of questions

deliberately designed to elicit responses from each respondent or research informant

for the purpose of collecting data or information (Annum, 2015). It is a research

instrument that gathers data over a large sample within a short period of time and

upheld confidentiality (Kombo, 2006). In this study, the researcher employed

questionnairewith both closed and open ended questions to collect data from school

board members on challenges they face in managing community secondary schools.

In developing good questionnaire, a researcher employed dichotomous questions

including Yes/No, Agree/Disagree questions as these were quickest and simplest to

analyse. In addition, the researcher used open ended questions as they allow the

respondents to respond in their own words and also helped in addressing the why

questions. The rationale for using this instrument was that it reduced the opportunity

for interviewer bias as they are presented in paper format.It was also used due to the

nature of the research objectives that needed some quantitative data to be captured

3.6.3 Documentary Review

Documentary review in this study was used to supplement data collected through

interview, and questionnaire. Enon (1998) explains that documentary review method

involves deriving information by careful studying written documents. In this case,

documentary review was an important method for gathering secondary data that lay

the foundation for the researcher to go to the field. Documentary review is the

selection of available documents (published and unpublished) on the topic which

contain information, ideas, and evidence written from a particular stand point to fulfil

certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how is to be

investigated (Kothari, 2004). With regards to the study, important documents such
47
as school boards meeting minutes, school-parents meeting minutes, school planning

documents, government established orders and circulars on school boards were

revisited to access important information on school boards. The aim of reviewing the

documents was to complement research objectives one and two.

School board minutes was used to find important data including school board

meeting attendances, agendas discussed in the school board meetings such as

students indiscipline cases, school reports both physical and financial, approval of

the WSDPs and budget, procurement plans, the year action plan, school and suppliers

contracts on the purchase of teaching and learning materials as well as construction

of buildings. Also availability of important educational documents such as Education

policies of 1995 and 2014, education act of 1978, finance act of 2004 and school

board establishment order of 2002 was reviewed during this study to find out

whether they accessible to board members in order to be aware of their roles and

responsibility.

3.7 Validity and Reliability of the Instruments

Validity refers to the extent to which an instrument measures what we actually wish

to measure (Kothari, 2004). It is the most critical criterion and indicates the degree to

which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. In addition, according

to (Cohen, 2000) validity determines whether the research truly measures that which

it was intended to be measured or how truthful the research results are. They also

suggested that for the purpose of ensuring validity of instruments, a multiple data

collection techniques known as triangulation can be employed in the process of data

collection

48
The reliability measures the degree of accuracy in the measurements an instrument

provides, and it ensures that the instruments generate similar data when used by

independent researchers (Lydiah and Nasongo, 2009). It refers to the degree of

consistence with which an instrument is capable of collecting similar data when used

repeatedly. In order to improve reliability, the researcher should observe the length of

the instrument, that is, the longer the instrument, the greater is its reliability. In

addition, heterogeneity of the subject is important as the more the heterogeneous the

subject is, the more likely reliability will increase. Also, the researcher observed the

clarity of instructions given to those using the instrument with consideration that the

clearer the instruction, the higher the reliability will be. In order to deal with these

two aspects in this study, the research payed close attention to the design of the data

collection instruments. To ensure validity, the researcher conducted a pilot study in

one secondary School, which is situated in Kiteto District. The purpose of the pilot

study was to check the clarity of the questionnaires and interview guide that were

prepared, their instruction and layout, so as to eliminate ambiguity. Furthermore,

peer review of research instruments and supervisors consultation increases the

validity and reliability of research instruments.

3.8 Ethical Considerations

For any study, it is important to secure all necessary permission to carry out the study

without causing impairment to the potential respondents (Patton, 2002).In this study,

the researcher found a letter of introduction from the Director of Post-Graduate

studies at the University of Dodoma. This permit helped the researcher to obtain

another permit from District Administrative Secretary (DAS) and finally District

Executive Director (DED) of Kitetofor permission to visit selected community

secondary schools in order to conduct the study. After visiting schools, the researcher
49
conducted some meetings with the respondents to briefly explain the purpose and

significance of the study. During the time of conducting the research, confidentiality

was observed since some information to be researched might touch the life of the

respondents. Data misuses or disclosure at the wrong time or to the wrong client or

organ was highly forbidden. To avoid plagiarism, the researcher paraphrased, cited

and quoted relevant information from different sources such as articles, books and

dissertation. Likewise the researcher maintained the anonymity of the participants by

not identifying them through their names, address as well as their e-mails.

3.9 Data Analysis Plan

Data analysis refers to the condensation and compilation of data to find answers to

the project problem or survey (Kothari, 2004). Data analysis is carried out with the

purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing them in such a way that

they would answer the research questions. Data analysis is a process that implies

editing, coding, classification and tabulation of collected data (Polonsky, 2005). In

this study, both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were employed.

The data collected through questionnaire were in Kiswahili as some of the school

board members were not conversant in English and later translated by the researcher

in English.According to Meurer et al (2007) qualitative data analysis involves

detailed, verbal descriptions of characteristics cases, settings, and it uses observation,

interviewing, and document review as source of data. Therefore qualitative data from

semi-structured interview with open ended questions, secondary data from

documentary review was analyzed using content analysis. On the other hand, the data

obtained from closed ended questionswere analysedusing Statistical Package for

Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 computer software. Hence frequencies, means and

percentages were calculated and presented into tables.

50
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION,ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.0 Introduction

This chapter presents an analysis of data that were collected during field research and

interpretation of the research findings. The study aimed to investigate the challenges

faced byschool board in managing community secondary schools in Kitetodistrict.

The analysis and interpretation of the research findings have been done according to

the specific objectives of the study. These include to: asses the awareness of school

board members on the roles of managing community secondary schools in Kiteto

district; identify challenges that the school boards face in managing community

secondary schools and suggest appropriatestrategies that can be used to address the

challenges faced byschool boards in order to improve their roles to manage schools.

The research tools which were used to collect data included interviews,

questionnaires and documentary review. In order to collect data; 48 school board

members, 6 school board chair persons, 6 teachers representatives in school boards, 6

heads of schools and DSEO were involved to obtain data to enrich the study. Also,

documentary review was used to collect documented information from 6 selected

community secondary schools in Kiteto district. Moreover, quantitative data were

analyzed by using SPSSVersion 20 computer software and the findings were

presented in to percentages, frequencies and means while qualitative data were

analysed through content analysis

4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

The main demographic features of the respondents featured in this section include;

category, gender, educational level, ageand experience of the respondents

51
Table 4.1 (a):Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents by Category, Gender and Age
Respondents Gender Category percentage Respondents Age
Male Female 26-35 36-45 46-55 56+
School board members 36(75%) 12(25%) 48(72%) 10 16 14 8
(20.8%) (33.3%) (29.2%) (16.7%)
School board chair persons 6(100%) - 6(9%) - - 4(66.7%) 2(33.3%)
Teachers representatives in school boards 4(66.7%) 2(33.3% 6(9%) N/A N/A N/A N/A
)
Head of Schools 4(66.7%) 2(33.3% 6(9%) N/A N/A N/A N/A
)
DSEO 1 - 1(1%) N/A N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL 51 16 67
(76.1%) (23.9%) (100%)

Source: Field Data, 2016.

Key; N/A= Not Applicable.

52
4.1.1 Respondents’ Category

Table 4.1(a) above shows that, majority of respondents were school board members

(81%, n=48)including the school boards chair persons, while teachers (heads of

Schools and teachers representatives in school boards) were (18% n=12) and DSEO

(1 % n=1). The findings is in concurrence with the Education Act,1978‟s stipulation

(as amended in 1995) under S.38 which insists that the members of the School

boards representing the community served by that school shall be in the majority

(URT, 1995b.)

4.1.2 Respondents’ Gender

In addition from table 4.1(a), findings by gender show that, in the category of heads

of schools, males were 4 (66.7%, n=6) while females were 2 (33.3%), On the other

hand, the category of school board members, males were 36 (75%, n=48) while

females were 12 (25%), from teachers representatives males were (66.7% n=6), and

females were (33.3% n=6). For board chairpersons males were (100%) and the

DSEO was a male (100%).

The findings imply that males were highly represented by51 (76.1%) of the total

respondents compared to 16(23.9%) of females. As the result most of the decisions

made in the school boards were dominated by males due to gender imbalance.

Hence, there is a need to revise the appointment criteria in appointing members of

school boards

4.1.3 Respondents’ Age

In this study, questionnaires were answered by respondents of different ages to

examine different patterns of findings. The findings of age distribution are indicated

in the table 4.1(a)which reveals that 33.33% of the respondents were aged between

53
36-45 years followed by those aged between 46-55 years with 29.2%. On the other

hand, the respondents who were aged 26-35 and 56+ were 20.8% and 16.7%

respectively. From the findings, it was clear that majority of the respondents who

participated in the study were aged between 36-45 years.

4.1.4 Educational Level of the Respondents

The table 4.1(b) indicates the education level of the respondents which reflects that,

majority of the respondents were primary education leavers (45% n=54), while (40%

n=54) where secondary education leavers followed by respondents with diploma

level (28% n=66), degreelevel were (24% n=67) and respondent with master holders

was (20% n=67).

The findings imply that, majority of the school board members were primary school

leavers. Since most of the educational documents were written in English, for these

members, it could be difficult for them to understand these documents and hinder

their full participation in discussion during meetings. The researcher suggests that the

appointing authority should consider the criteria of education at least diploma level.

As it has been observed in this study, the majority (45%) had primary education

qualification which is a challenge in effective planning, management and monitoring

of secondary education. Also, the findings imply that, heads of schools and teachers

representatives had a dominant role over the school board members with regard to

planning, budgeting and management. This supports the argument that inadequacy in

skill capabilities limits effectiveness in role accomplishment and ability to demand

for accountability.

54
Table 4.1(b): Respondents’ Work Experience andEducation Level
Respondents category Work Experience Education level
F 1-2 3-4 5-6 7+ Primary Secondary Diploma Degree Master
% % % % N (%) N (%) N (%) N (%) N (%)
Board members 48 60% 34% 6% - 27(56%) 14(29%) 5(11%) 2(4%) -
School board chair persons. 6 67% 33% - - 2(33%) 3(50%) - 1(17%) -
Teachers representatives in school boards 6 50% 33% 17% - N/A N//A 4(67%) 2(33%) -
Heads of Schools 6 33% 50% 17% - N/A N/A 2(33%) 4(67%) -
DSEO 1 - - - 100% N/A N/A N/A - 1(100%)
Average 67 42% 30% 8% 20% 45% 40% 28% 24% 20%

Source: Field Data, 2016.

Key;F=Frequency, N/A=Not Applicable

55
4.1.5 Working Experience of the Respondents

The findings indicated in the table 4.1(b) shows that the majority of the respondents

(42% n=67) had the working experience of between one to two years followed by

those having the experience of three to four years (30% n=67). On the other hand,

respondents with 7+ and 5-6 years‟ experience were 20% and 8% respectively of the

total respondents (n=67). This implies that informants had enough information about

the study regarding the roles, challenges and strategies to improve the board roles in

managing community secondary schools

The findings imply that, majority of the school board members were primary school

leavers. Since most of the educational documents were written in English, for these

members, it could be difficult for them to understand these documents and hinder

their full participation in discussion during meetings. The researcher suggests that the

appointing authority should consider the criteria of education at least diploma level.

As it has been observed in this study, the majority (45%) had primary education

qualification which is a challenge in effective planning, management and monitoring

of secondary education. Also, the findings imply that, heads of schools and teachers

representatives had a dominant role over the school board members with regard to

planning, budgeting and management. This supports the argument that inadequacy in

skill capabilities limits effectiveness in role accomplishment and ability to demand

for accountability.

4.1.5 Working Experience of the Respondents

The findings indicated in the table 4.1(b) shows that the majority of the respondents

(42% n=67) had the working experience of between one to two years followed by

those having the experience of three to four years (30% n=67). On the other hand,

56
respondents with 7+ and 5-6 years‟ experiencewere 20% and 8% respectively of the

total respondents (n=67). This implies that informants had enough information about

the study regarding the roles, challenges and strategies to improve the board roles in

managing community secondary schools

4.2 Presentation and Discussion of Findings Based on Research Objectives

4.2.1 Awareness of school Board Membersof their Roles of Managing

Community Secondary Schools

The first objective sought to assess the awareness of school board members on the

roles they were assigned to play in managing community secondary schools. In

gathering data about this objective, questionnaires were distributedto school board

members; interviews were administered to school board chairpersons, head of

schools, teachers‟ representatives in school boards andDSEO. Also the documentary

reviews were used to obtain some information to supplement the responses from the

mentioned instruments.

The data collected from school board members through the likert scale from the

questionnaires were indicated in table 4.2.1 (a)

Table 4.2.1(a) shows that, 6 out of 8 suggested statements were agreed by school

board members as their roles in managing community secondary schools. These

include: to monitor income and expenditure, curriculum implementation, establishing

school projects, improving students‟ performance, handling students‟ discipline and

to improve school infrastructure. However, the school board members disagree that

one of their roles was to approve the WSDPs and to make evaluation of students‟

examination results.

57
Table 4.2.1 (a): School Board Members Awareness of their Roles of Managing

Community Secondary Schools

Item Mean Rank Decision

1 School boards monitor income and 3.65 1 A

expenditure
2 School board is involved in curriculum 3.53 2 A
implementation
3 School board play great role in 3.43 3 A
establishing school projects
4 School board play great roles in improving 3.40 4 A
students performance
5 School board is involved in handling 3.09 5 A
students discipline
6 School board play part in improving 3.03 6 A
school infrastructure
7 School boards are involved in approving 2.48 7 D
WSDPs
8 School boards usually make evaluation on 2.03 8 D
students examination results

Source: Field Data, 2016

Key;A:Agree with mean scale ranges from 4.0 to 2.50

D: Disagree with mean scale ranges from 2.49 and 1.50

The findings imply that the majority of the school board members were aware of

their roles. The above findings were supplemented by responses obtained through

open ended questionnaires as shown in table 4.2.1 (b)

The findings of the study presented in the table 4.2.1 (b) about the challenges faced

by school boards in managing community secondary schools indicate that the most

frequently stated roles include to; monitor budget (88%), mobilize fund rising (79%)

58
and to oversee the implementation of school plans (54%). The least mentioned roles

include handling students‟ discipline (42%) and coordinating parents meetings.

Table 4.2.1(b): School Board Members Awareness of their roles of Managing

Community Secondary Schools
Item Number of Percentages Rank
Responses
1 School boards monitor the budget 42 88 1
2 School boards play part in 38 79 2
mobilizing fund rising
3 School board oversee the 26 54 3
implementation of school plans
4 School handle students discipline 20 42 4
5 School board coordinate parents 17 35 5
meetings
Source: Field Data (2016)

To cross-check results, the same question was asked through interview and findings

from 6(100%) heads of schools, 5(83%) teachers representatives in school

boards,6(100%) school board chair persons, and the DSEO showed that, the most

frequently mentioned school board role was to monitor income and expenditure. The

school heads who were the secretaries in the school boards meeting stated that, they

supervise the collection of school fees and other contributions from parents. Then,

the reports of the amount of money collected were presented in the school board

meetings, where the boards plan on how the money could be spent in different school

activities. One of the head of school in school A stated that, in his school there is a

procurement committee composed of 2 school board members and 2 teachers which

supervise the purchasing of materials in different sectors including academic and

building constructions. Similarly, another head of school from school B stated that,

59
the school board is informed of the financial monthly reports discussed in the board

meetings which were done twice per term or more as the need arises. In addition,

another head of school argued that, no any payment is accepted by the pre-audit

office unless the payment process has blessings from the school board meeting

The representative teacher in the school board, from school E, commended that,

school board reallocate funds that is used in preparing different examinations such as

terminal and annualwhich is done at the end of each term. The school board chair

persons from schools D and F suggested that, the school procurement plans and

budgets were agreed by the school boards before they are put into implementation in

order for the parents and community to be aware on how their contributions are spent

in the school.

In addition, the DSEO added that, a school board is the responsible authority at the

school level which authorizes the school expenditure. He argued that:

“During the payment process, all heads of schools normally

brought their payment documents to my office. Therefore, if
there is no attachment of the approved procurement plan,
that payment is not authorized for payment” (Interviewed
DSEO, April 2016)
The findings tally withthose of Onderi and Makori (2012) which revealed that,

among other roles, BOGs were responsible for school finance management.

Similarly, the findings are in line with those of Gibbons (2011) who contend that,

school boards were accountable for finances. Further, the results concur with that of

UNDP (1989) which reveal that, local communities that are organized by villages

have responsibilities for school management and finance as part of the rural

responsibility system which liberalized the village economy and allowed rural

communities, with their increased income, to take over the funding and its control.

60
Another school board role that was most frequently mentioned by respondents was to

maintain students‟ discipline. Regarding this role, 6(100%) heads of schools, 5(83%)

teachers‟ representatives, 5(83%) schools board chair persons and the DSEO when

interviewed stated this role. The findings reveal that all the respondents in five

schools agreed that school boards were responsible for shaping students discipline.

The head of school from school B commended that, dealing with students disciplines

need cooperation among different educational stake holders including teachers,

parents and the school board. Another head of school from school F explained that:

“When dealing with students’ indiscipline cases, the

discipline committee is the first organ to handle the situation
and make recommendations. Then the issue is presented to
staff meeting where parents are involved and decisions are
made. When the level of offence is high, the issue is presented
in to school board where final decisions are made either to
suspend the student or to terminate his or her
study”(Interviewed school head, April 2016)
In addition, the teachers representative in school C recommended that, school board

play a great role in assisting teachers to shape the students deviant characters. He

added that, when students are truants then the academic performance will drop.

Another teacher representative from school A reported that, some members of school

board and teachers had conducted guidance and counselling services to some

students in order to help them to avoid peer mobs and sexual relations between boys

and girls Further, one of the school board chair person pointed out that during

school-parents meetings one of the agenda presented is how to deal with students

indiscipline especially truancy.

In addition, the chair person from school C stated that, school board in their meetings

usually discuss girls‟ pregnancy which hinder girls education and the

recommendations are taken to different educational stake holders including teachers,

parents for further actions. Regarding handling students, the DSEO, recommended

61
that, school boards normally passed the by-laws agreed with parents to deal with

students truancy. For instance, in other to handle the issue of truancy in some

schools, the parents were charged Tsh. 2000 per day and it helped in reducing the

cases of truancy. In addition, the school boards also play part in advising teachers to

follow their professional code of conduct. So who misbehaves their issues is reported

to DSEOs and TSD for further action.

These findings concur with those of Mulai (2011) who asserted that, among other

roles performed by the BOG include; handling the discipline of students and to

ensure that teachers adhere to their routine. Also the current findings resemble with

that of ETP (1995) subsection 4.10 which states boards and committees of education

and training institutions shall be responsible for management development and

discipline in their jurisdictions. Further the current findings concur with those of

Okumbe (2001) who comment that,to tame students‟behaviour and discipline,

approaches used were; guidance and counselling, use of peer counsellors and use of

reward both positive and negative.

Another school boards role that was most frequently mentioned by respondents was

ensuring availability of teaching and learning materials. During the interview, 5

(83%) heads of schools, 3 (50%) teachers representatives in school boards, 4(67%)

school boards chair persons and the DSEO pointed out that among the roles to be

played by the school boards in managing community secondary schools is to make

sure that their schools are supplied with teaching and learning materials. The findings

reveal that, school boards were sought to provide teaching and learning materials to

teachers and students for effective teaching and learning to take place. This was

because school boards have a mandate in controlling all financial issues in their

schools to buy teaching and learning materials. Such materials include chalk, text

62
books, reference books, laboratory equipment and chemicals. The responses revealed

the importance of providing teaching and learning materials that would help to

deliver knowledge and skills to learners effectively for students‟ good academic

performance.

During the interview a head of school from school E recommended that:

“…to promote transparency in purchasing teaching and

learning materials, procurement committee composed of
members of boards and teachers consults different suppliers
by filling the price of each item in the three quotation forms
to be aware of the actual price in the market”.( (Interviewed
school head, April, 2016)

The school boards chair persons in the schools A, D and E recommended that, for

effective teaching and learning to take place the schools need to have adequate

teaching and learning materials especially laboratory chemicals and apparatus to

support government, parents and community effort who constructed the science

laboratories.

Similarly, the DSEO asserted that, if received funds from the government to buy

teaching and learning materials would be spent as directed, it would help to reduce

scarcity of materials in community secondary schools. Further, he recommended

that:

...School boards usually purchases differentmaterials when

they have received funds from the central government. This
help to reduce the acute problems of shortage of materials
including laboratory chemicals, books, in community
secondary schools. (Interviews held with DSEO, April, 2016)
The current findings are supported byMbiti (1980) who argue that, when school

equipment supplies are not provided, teachers cannot be expected to do their work

properly. Poor teaching will lead to poor performance by the pupils in public

examinations.

63
Furthermore, improving school infrastructure was another mentioned role of school

boards in managing community secondary schools. The findings reveal that 4(67%)

heads of schools, 3 (50%) teachers representatives in the school boards, 4(67%)

school boards chair persons and DSEO mentioned that school boards is responsible

for improving the school infrastructure. During the interview three heads of schools

from school A, B and D commended that, school boards played important role in

mobilising parents and community to provide funds used in constructing water tank,

kitchen and toilets.

In addition, the chair person from school A argued that, the school board in his

school supervise the construction of three classrooms. Therefore school board

represents the parents in effective management of the schools. Also, the school board

chair person in school C informed the researcher that, they are organising with the

parents to make repair of the classrooms‟ floor in their school. One of the teachers‟

representatives in school B mentioned that, in the last year‟ graduation, the school

board organizes fund rising aimed to modify the teachers‟ office. He suggested that:

“…school boards have many plans to implement, the problem

is inadequate funds. Majority of the parents are farmers who
have low income as the result they contribute little in
improving the school infrastructure.” (Interviewed teacher
representative in school board, April, 2016)
In addition, the DSEO add that, school board play a great role in improving school

infrastructure. The funds disbursed in schools for the purpose of improving

infrastructure need close supervision of the school boards unless the funds will be

used for the unintended activities. He gave an example of school A where the school

board supervise the construction of three classrooms and two teachers‟ houses which

were constructed in the required standard and funds allocated were carefully used.

64
These findings concurs with that of Douglas (2013) which reveal that, BOG is

responsible for; planning and development of physical facilities; sourcing for funds

to under-take infrastructure improvement in the school; monitoring and supervising

physical projects in the school; proper use and maintenance of physical facilities

such as; class rooms, labs, library, fields, and classrooms

Furthermore, during the interview, the respondents mentioned an important role of

school boards as to improve the students‟ performance. The findings reveal that 4

(67%) heads of schools, 3 (50%) teachers‟ representatives in the school boards, 3

(50%) school boards chairpersons and DSEO stated this role. The five heads of

schools recommended that one of the agenda discussed in their school board

meetings were how to improve the students‟ academic performance. Another head of

school from school A, narrated that in his school, school board agreed with the

teachers, parents and students to implement remedial teaching for examination

classes such as forms two and four. In this agreement, parents agreed to contribute

Tsh.15000 per student per. On the other hand teachers agreed to teach these classes

during the vacation in June. On the other hand two teachers who represent others in

the school board meetings from school A, C and F stated that, school boards together

with the school management team organize the students‟ meals. The availability of

breakfast and lunch enabled the subject teachers to attend extra periods during the

afternoon to make revisions.

In addition, the chair person from school A commented that, the school board in his

school agreed to motivate teachers who are committed to their work and students

who perform better in their final examinations. Also the head of school in this school

added that, subject teachers whose students got A, B, and C in their final

examinations are motivated by being paid Tshs.10, 000/= 5,000/= and 3,000/=

65
respectively per each subjects. This revels that, school boards play great role in

improving students‟ performance in their schools. On the other hand, the findings

from the heads of schools of the schools B and D reveal that mealwas not available in

their schools as parents denied it. As the results classroom sessions end at 2.30 pm

and there is opportunity for teachers to conduct extra classes. Further, the DSEO

recommended that:

“The schools in which school boards were active, their

general academic performance were good compared to those
with inactive school boards. This was because they usually
make follow up on the teaching and learning processes as
well as ensuring the availability of teaching and learning
materials in school. This is opposite for those schools with
inactive school boards (Interviewed DSEO, April 2016)
In addition, he commented that:

“Successful schools are those in which the heads of schools

appointed the competent members of school boards with
adequate knowledge and skills on education. For instance,
school A is performing better in final examinations due to the
fact that the board regularly evaluate the students’ results
and demand for accountability from the head of school and
their subordinates.”(Interviewed DSEO, April 2016)
The current findings agree with that of Onderi (2012) which revealed that among

other roles, BOG were responsible for improvement of school performance,

development and welfare. In addition, it has been demonstrated (Goodman et.al.,

1997) that schoolboards which practice high quality governance, tend to have higher

levels of student achievement.

One of the least mentioned role of school boards in managing community secondary

school is to approve WSDPs.The responses reveal that, 2 (33%) heads of schools, 2

(33%)teachers‟ representatives in the schools boards and 2 (33%) school boards chair

persons stated this role. The findings reveal that only few schools have the tendency

of preparing the WSDPs which must be approved by the school boards. The WSDPs

66
enables the SMT and school boards to anticipate the school needs in advance. In

addition, the findings reflect that, some members were not aware that school boards

were responsible to approve school reports and submit to the DSEO‟s office and to

the commissioner of education as required by the school board establishment order of

2002.

The findings of the study are in line with that of Gibbons (2011) who contends that

school boards were responsible for directing the activities of the school District in

terms of organization, strategic planning and operations, and accountability for

finances and student learning.However, it contradicts with the school boards

establishment order of 2002 which require the school board to approve the WSDPs

and budget.

Further more, the researcher reviewed the school boards meeting minutes to observe

the agenda discussed during the meetings. The findings were indicated in the table

(4.2.1c).

67
Table 4.2.1(c):Analysis on the Agenda Discussed in the School Board Meetings
Agenda discussed in the school School School B School C School D School E School F F %
board meetings A
School infrastructure       6 100
Parental involvement       6 100
Construction and maintenance       6 100
Students‟ and teachers‟ discipline       6 100
Income and expenditure       6 100
Students‟ meals  -  -   4 67
Remedial teachings  -  -   4 67
Students performance  -  -   4 67
Motivation for students and teachers  -  - -  3 50
Curriculum implementation  - -  - - 2 33
Approving WSDPs  - - - - 1 17

Source Field Data (2016)

Key: F= Frequency

68
The findings from the table 4.2.1(c) indicate that, in all schools, among the issues

discussed in the school board meetings were; school infrastructure, parental

involvement in school matters, constructions and maintenance, students and teachers

discipline, as well as school income and expenditure. In addition, the minutes reveal

that, in the four schools (67%) the issues discussed by the school board members

include remedial teachings, and students‟ performance, andstudents‟ meals. Also, in

schools B, C, E and F the agenda on how curriculum was implemented were not

presented in the school boards meetings among the agenda discussed compared to

2(33%) schools where the agenda were presented. Further, the meeting minutes

reveal that, the agenda of motivation for teachers and students were presented in 3

(50%) schools (A, C and F) while in the schools B, D and E it was not presented.

The finding show that, it was in school A (17%),were the agenda of approving the

WSDPs was presented while the rest of schools (83%) the agenda was not found in

the school board meetings. The findings imply that, the majority of the school boards

were aware on the roles of managing community secondary schools. It also, implies

that, the role of approving WSDPs was a challenge to the majority school board

members.

In general, the findings of the first objective about the awareness of school boards on

the roles in managing community secondary schools reveal that, school boards were

aware of their roles in managing community secondary schools to include,

monitoring the income and expenditure, handling teachers and students discipline in

consultation with TSD and DSEO office, demanding on regular basis accountability

for students performance. In addition the majority were not aware that they should

approve the WSDPs.

69
The findings are supported by Onderi (2012) who argues that, the duties of the

boards were to assist the principal in areas such as: assessing the current needs and

performance of the school; promoting sports as well as recreational and cultural

activities; developing and maintaining school infrastructure and facilities and

utilizing effectively state allocations and community contributions.

In conjunction, with scientific management theory by Fredrick Taylor, for school

boards to perform their roles effectively, there was a need for careful selection of

competent members of boards based on their educational background. In

addition,there should be orientation and training to school board members in order to

equip them with management and leadership skills. Also the theory emphasizes joint

cooperation among different educational stake holders such as parents, teachers,

school boards, and community at large. Every party should respect another in

efficient and effective management of schools.

On the other hand, the system theory treats an organization as either an open or

closed system and enables one to understand factors influencing the performance of

the organization from both internal and external environments. It implies that, for the

school board to perform their roles successfully there is a need to make a joint effort

between different stake holders within and outside the school system. Therefore, the

efficiency and effectiveness of the output (products) depend on how the inputs were

effectively processed.

70
4.2.2 Challenges faced bySchool Boards in Managing Community Secondary

Schools

The aim of this objective was to identify the challenges faced byschool boards in

managing community secondary schools. Responses for this objective were gathered

from members of school boards through open ended questionnaires which were

interpreted through multiple responses, while interviews were used to collect data

from teachers‟ representatives in school boards, head of schools, school boards

chairpersons and the DSEO. Documentary reviews were used to supplement the

findings from the mentioned instruments. The data collected from school board

members through the likert scale were indicated in table 4.2.2 (a)

Table 4.2.2(a) shows that, 6 out of 8 suggested statements were agreed by school

board members as the challenges faced byschool boards in managing community

secondary schools. The mostly agreed challenges include; lack of transport and

seating allowance, poor attendance of some school board members in the meetings,

lack of training and poor cooperation among school board, teachers, parents and

community. Also among the disagreed statements were lack of commitment of

school board members to their roles and willingness of heads of schools to work with

the school boards. The findings imply that, majority of the school boards were aware

of the challenges faced them in managing community secondary schools.

71
Table 4.2.2 (a): Challenges faced byschool boards in Managing Community
Secondary Schools (Item Ranking)
Item Mean Rank Decision
1 During the school board meetings transport 3.71 1 A
and seating allowance sometimes were not
available
2 Some school board members do not attend 3.65 2 A
board meetings
3 Majority of school board members did not 3.51 3 A
attend training on management roles and
leadership
4 There is poor cooperation among teachers, 3.40 4 A
school board, parents, and community
5 Politics sometimes interfere board activities 3.09 5 A
6 Newly appointed school board members are 3.03 6 A
not given orientation course before assuming
their responsibility
7 Majority of school board members were not 2.48 7 D
committed to their roles
8 Head of school is not willing to work with 2.0 8 D
school board

Source: Field Data, 2016

Key; A: Agree with mean scale ranges from 4.0 to 2.50

D: Disagree with mean scale ranges from 2.49 and 1.50

To supplement the findings, the responses from the open ended questionnaires were

presented in the table 4.2.2 (b). The findings of the study presented in the table4.2.2

(b) on the challenges faced byschool boards in managing community secondary

schools indicate that, the most frequently stated challenges were, financial constraints

(94%) the lack of orientation courses and training to school board members (83%),

followed by lack of cooperation among school boards, teachers parents and

72
students(79%). In addition, among the least mentioned challenges include

indiscipline cases among students especially truancy (50%) conflict resolution

between schools and the surrounding community (44%) and poor performance of

students in the national examinations (42%).

Table 4.2.2(b): Challenges faced bySchool Boards in Managing Community

Secondary Schools (Open ended Questionnaire)
Challenges Number of Percentages Rank
Responses
1 Transport and seating 45 94 1
allowance
2 Lack of orientation courses 40 83 2
and training to school board
members
3 Lack of cooperation among 38 79 3
school board, teachers,
students and parents
4 Low understanding of 30 58 4
community on school boards
roles
5 Political interference on 26 54 5
educational matters
6 Indiscipline among students 24 50 6
especially truancy
7 Conflicts resolution between 21 44 7
schools and the surrounding
community
8 Poor performance of students 20 42 8
in national examinations

Source: Field Data (2016)

73
For further justification of the findings, the researcher triangulated the findings from

the open ended questionnaires with the interviews whereby the findings showed that;

transport and seating allowance was the most frequently mentioned by all the 6

(100%) heads of schools, 6 (100%) teachers representatives in the school boards ,6

(100%)school boards chair persons and the DSEO. The heads of schools informed

the researcher that, school board establishment order requires the board to meet four

times in year for the normal meetings or more when need arises. Four heads of

schools explained that, due to financial constraints even the normal meetings were

not conducted. This became a challenge for school board to operate effectively. In

addition, a school chairperson from school F commended that:

“We are not aware the exact amount of seating allowance

which is supposed to be paid to school board members per
meeting. The head of school paid us little money or
sometimes no payment at all. So attending school board
meeting is a challenge to majority of members.”(Interviewed
school board chairperson, April, 20016)

In addition, two school board chair persons from the schools B and D reported

that,some members of school boards are living far away from where their schools

were located. Therefore for them to attend school board meeting is a challenge due to

lack of transport allowance.They were complaining that they were performing tasks

which consume a lot of time and require them to walk long distances in that regard,

they needed allowances. On the other hand, they had too many school activities to

perform which sometimes interfered with their own activities.

During the conversation, one of the head of school from school E explained that:

“Running the school board meetings as required by the

government is a challenge to this school due to financial
constraints. For every meeting I am supposed to prepare
seating and transport allowances, break fast and lunch as the
result board meetings were rarely done per year due to
insufficient funds”. (Interviewed school head, April, 20016)

74
In addition, during the interview, one of the school board chairpersons from school C

commented that:

“Some members of the school board were not attending

meetings due to the reasons that, they did not have money for
transport and head of schools were not paying seating
allowance and remember that we were unemployed as the
results some meetings were postponed due to insufficient
quorum for meeting to be done.”(Interviewed school board
chairperson, April, 20016)
Similarly, one of the teachers‟ representatives in the school C explained that,

Further, school board chairperson from school F explained that, members of school

board were supposed to attend different educational seminars conducted at the

District headquarters for them to be exposed to various skills regarding school

management. Unfortunately due inefficient funds no any member had attended.

In order to supplement the findings from the schools level, the researcher conducted

an interview with the DSEO on the challenges faced by school boards in managing

community secondary schools. The respondent argued that, insufficient funds for

running the school board activities are among the challenges. He elaborated that,

school board members were supposed to get experience from different places by

learning through interactions with others concerning management of schools . Due to

financial constraints that opportunity became limited. In addition, some heads of

schools were not conducting school board meetings due to lack of transport and

seating allowance.

The findings correspond to that of Ayeni (2012) who recommended that the

operation of the SBMC is faced with the challenges of poor attendance of members

at meetings due to lack of incentives and financial support from the government.

Similar findings by Komba (2003) observe that, some schools were located far away

and in areas with no reliable roads. Therefore, they had to travel a long distance on
75
foot while carrying the purchased facilities on their hand. She went further and urged

that the problem of transport had resulted in another problem that was the risk of

damage or theft of materials along the way.

Lack of orientation and trainingamong school board members was another challenge

identified by the researcher during the interview. In response to this challenge, 6

(100%) heads of schools,5 (83%) teachers representatives in the school boards,6

(100%)school boards chair persons and the DSEO identified lack of training to

school board members is one of the challenges faced byschool boards in managing

community secondary schools. One of the head of school in school A stated that, he

has more than six years in the current school whereby no any training has been

conducted to school board members. From his point of view, newly appointed

members were only given orientation by the head of school regarding their roles and

responsibilities. Similarly, another head of school from school B gave her view

regarding challenges faced byschool boards in managing community secondary

schools by commenting that:

“The majority of school board members in my school depend

on me during decisions making as they don’t understand their
roles and responsibility due to lack of orientation and
training to all members” (Interviewed school head, April,
20016)
Similarly, the school board chair person from school E stated that, majority of the

school board members failed to differentiate their roles in relation to those played by

teachers. This results to misunderstanding between the two groups. On the other hand

one of teachers‟ representatives in school B explained that school board members

were not competent to evaluate how the curriculum is implemented by the teachers

as the majority of them are not aware of it. In addition another head of school argued

that, during approval of school budget and reports the majority of the school board

members are passive as they have no skills in planning and budgeting so decisions
76
made were dominated by the teacher component in the school board. In addition, the

DSEO argued that:

“Due to lack of training to members, they lack important

skills on planning and budgeting. As the result the heads of
schools dominate the decisions making processes while
school board members has little to contribute” (Interviewed
DSEO, April, 2016)
Similarly the findings are in line with those of URT (1997) which came up with the

observations that, committee members, who were often not trained, have no skill in

management, development, planning, discipline and finance. Thus, school

committees are not functioning well. In such situations, the question of power

asymmetry is evident, whereby owing to inadequacies in skills and knowledge on the

part of School committee /SGB members the principals/ head teachers remain the

major decision makers in the committees/ SGB as supported (De Grauwe et. al,

2005).

In addition, the findings concurred with that of Mabasa and Themane (2002) who

report that SGBs are not trained beforethey start their work and this is manifested in

problems such as unfamiliarity with meetingprocedures, problems with the specialist

language used in meetings, difficulties in managinglarge volumes of paper, not

knowing how to make a contribution, not knowing appropriatelegislation, feeling

intimidated by the presence of other members who seem knowledgeable

andperceiving their roles as simply endorsing what others have already decided upon.

This can beattributed to irrelevant and inadequate training of SGB members, which

does not really address the core functions of school governance. In addition the

study by Van Wyk (2004) supports these findings by contending that, educators in

SGBs felt that other SGB members(an obvious reference to parent-governors) lack

confidence and are not sure of their duties. The author points out that, many

77
SGBsparticularlyin less advantaged areas, do not have the required skills and

experience to exercise their powers.

In addition,lack of cooperation from parentswas among the mentioned challenge

facing school board in managing community secondary. During the interview, the

findings from the respondents indicate that, 5 (83%) heads of schools, 5 (60%)

teachers‟ representatives in the school boards, 6 (100%) school boards chair persons

and the DSEO identified this problem. Among the five heads of schools, three of

them from schools B, D and Fcommended that, cooperation from parents especially

in the provision of students meal is a challenge to the majority of the parents. From

their point of view, parents were not cooperative, as the results neither breakfast nor

lunch is available for students. This became a challenge to school boards as the plans

and strategies for improving students‟ performance remained in dilemma. Three

representatives of teachers in the school boards, argued that, parents‟ attendances in

the school-parents meetings was a challenge in their schools. For instance one

representative from school B stated that, in his school there are 220 students,

unfortunately about 30 to 40 parents were the one who attends the school –parents

meetings.

During the interview, another head of school argued that, parents do not show

cooperation when discussing cases of students‟ indiscipline. He further explained

that, some of these parents claimed that it is the roles of teachers and school boards

to shape students deviant behaviours especially truancy.

During the interview, the school board chairperson from school A asserted that:

“Among other roles the school board has, the great role is
promoting the contacts between school, school board and
parents through regular meetings in order to reach the vision
and mission for the establishment of the school. If there was
poor relationship among these stake holders, the school
78
 performance would be poor at the same time there will be
misunderstanding between school and the surrounding
community” (Interviewed school board chairperson, April
2016)
In addition, this idea has been supported by another teacher in school C who argued

that:

“Shaping students discipline is a challenge now days because

some parents do not value the role of a teacher. Therefore we
need high support from school board to shape students
discipline in our school”. (Interviewed teacher’s
representative in school board, April 2016)
One of the teachers‟ representatives in school B recommended that:

“The relationship between staff and school board needs to be

strengthened in order to handle students’ discipline. Most of
the members of school board normally side with the parents
whose children committed offences as the result the decisions
made were not common to all members leading to
misunderstandings between the two groups” (Interviewed
teacher’s representative in school board, April 2016)
Further, chairperson from school F explained that:

“School board members were supposed to work as a team in

making decisions.When dealing with construction process,
some members were not faithful as they sometimes side with
the constructors for them to get benefit. As the results the
construction budget increases” (Interviewed school board
chairperson, April, 2016)
Moreover, when the DSEO was asked on the challenges faced by school boards in

managing community secondary schools, he responded that, there was inadequate

cooperation among different educational stake holders. In this area he commended

that majority of the parents do not value the importance of education, as the result,

they do not value the roles of school boards. For the school boards to manage

community secondary schools, parents should support the board to effectively

implement their plans. Further some of parents do not even make follow up of their

children academic performance as well as children attendance in schools.

79
The findingsresemble to that of Nyang‟anyi(2010) who revealed that parents often

did not feel welcome at school because they thought that, what they had to offer was

not important and unappreciated to teachers. Also, they did not believe that may have

any knowledge that the school was interested in knowing. That is the reason they

may not have a great deal on education issues. Also, Dixon (1992) asserted that,

some parents do not have a great deal of interest in the school for their children

education because they may not feel that education is important. This may be due to

embarrassment caused by memories of their failure in school and therefore, would

not have much desire to cooperate with teachers and support their children

academically.

Among the least but not last mentioned challenges faced by school boards in

managing community secondary was political interference. During the interview, the

findings from the respondents indicate that, 3 (50%) heads of schools, 2 (33%)

teachers‟ representatives in the school boards, 2 (33%) school boards chair persons

and the DSEO identified this challenge. During the interview, one of the school head

from school B informed the researcher that:

“The ward councillor and ward executive officer sometimes

interfere the board roles in planning for income and
expenditure of the school. The school signatories is composed
of school board members and teachers, but the ward
councillor sometimes argued that it is the ward which has the
mandate rather than the school board on how the school
income could be spent” (Interviewed head of school, April,
20116)
The chairperson from school F explained that, contradictions between school board

and political leaders sometimes arise during construction activities by stating that:

“There are projects supervised by school board while others

were under the ward construction committee. Development
funds deposited in the ward development account are
supervised by the ward construction committee while funds
deposited in the school development account are supervised
80
 by the school board. But sometimes school boards were
interfered when implementing their projects”(Interviewed
school board chairperson, April, 20116
Teachers‟ representative in school board from school D commended that, there are

conflicts between the school and surrounding community. He argued further that, the

conflicts had their root from political leaders who said that it is not possible for the

school to hold large area while the people surrounding it have no enough areas for

running their agricultural activities. As the results, misunderstanding arises among

school boards, school management team and community surrounding the school.

Similarly, the head of school from school E added that, according to education Act of

1978 section 38, the head of school has the mandate of recommending the possible

candidates to be appointed as the school board members. The proposed names were

screened by the Ward Development Committee (WDC) before submitted to DED

and finally to Region al Education Officer (REO) for further approval. During the

nomination process in the WDC, some competent candidates are removed due to

political interest. As the result, the board is composed of some members who

represent the interest of the political leaders in power. The DSEO, also, explained

that, there were political leaders in the District who undermine the roles of school

boards in managing community secondary schools. He further argued that, some

political leaders in the wards interfered with the board roles due to the reasons that

they play great role in the construction of schools. Due these misunderstandings,

school boards sometimes fail to implement their plans.

The finding of this study are supported by Douglass (2013) who observed that, there

were cases of self and group interest that are political in nature in school

organisations. He recommended that,some BOG members are elected as members of

81
a political party or appointed by the party in power. In such situations, the members

form camps and lay plans that conform to their political affiliation. Similarly, the study

by Moswela (2007) supportsthat;appointment of BOG is based on their political or

social status in their community rather than on the level of education among other

factors.

Moreover, lack of skills onapproving the WSDP and budgetingwas among the least

mentioned challenge facing school board in managing community secondary. During

the interview, the findings from the respondents indicate that, 2 (33%) heads of

schools, 1 (17%) teachers‟ representatives in the school boards, 2 (33%) school

boards chair persons and the DSEO identified this challenge. The interviews reveal

that, few members were aware that, it was their duty to approve the WSDP in their

schools during the school boards meetings.

During the interview one of the head of school in school A recommended that:

“One of the roles of school board is to approve the WSDP

but the majority of the board members had no idea on WSDP.
Therefore it is the duty of head of school and his management
team to prepare and implement it” (Interviewed school head,
April 2016)
In addition another head of school in school C argued that:

“Myself I am not aware on how to prepare the WSDP but I

normally copied it from the neighbouring school especially
during the inspection of schools and actually we don’t use it,
it is there for the purpose of inspection”(Interviewed school
head, April 2016).
Similarly, oneof the school chairperson stated that, since he was elected, he has three

years in this post; unfortunately enough he did not hear whether the school board is

responsible for approving the WSDPs. To him, that was the responsibility of the

DSEO. The responses from the DSEO reveal that, in all 16 community secondary

schools in the district, no school has a qualified bursar. The management of school

82
finances were assigned to heads of schools and school boards who have no adequate

skills on planning and budgeting. Therefore, handling finances is a challenge to many

schools in the district. Therefore, this implies that, the majority of the heads of

schoolsand school board members have inadequate knowledge and skills in the

process of preparing and approving the WSDPs and budget.

The findings of the current study are in line with that of Xaba (2011) who asserted

that, financial management was clearly and by admission from all the participants, a

real challenge. There were problems with budgeting, balancing expenditure and

budgeted income, using correct procedures regarding the use of finance and

deviations from the budget. Participants‟ accounts pointed to poor or no financial

management savvy at schools. The study reveals that, SGB do not have anybody who

is qualified, who has enoughexpertise in the financial management area, budgeting

and accounting. Similarly, the study by Wangai (2001) supports these findings by

stating that most of the board members lack the financial powers and others have

vested interests in the procurement of supplies. This means they can be comprised

and it exposes them to manipulation.

The finding above implies that the majority of the respondents were aware of the

challenges faced by school boards in managing community secondary schools. Also,

it suggests that the critical challenges were financial constraints, lack of training to

school board members and lack of cooperation among parents, teachers, students,

school boards and the community. In addition, political interference and lack of skills

on approving the WSDPs and budget other challenges faced by school boards in

managing community secondary schools.

83
4.2.3 Strategies to Address Challenges faced by School Boards in order to

improve their Roles to Manage Community Secondary Schools

In response to this objective, data were gathered through open ended questionnaire

from school board members and interviews administered to head of schools,

teachers‟ representatives in school boards, school boards chair persons and the

DSEO. The results from school board members were obtained through open ended

questionnaires and interpreted through multiple responses were shown in the table

4.2.3

Table 4.2.3: Strategies to Address Challenges faced by School Boards in order

to improve their Roles in Managing Community Secondary (Open
Ended Questionnaire)

Strategies Number Percentages Rank

of
Responses
1 Financial support from government and 44 92 1
stake holders
2 Regular orientation courses and 37 77 2
training to school board members
3 Strengthening cooperation among 35 73 3
school board, teachers and parents and
community
4 Avoiding political interference on 31 65 4
educational matters
5 Appointment of school board members 22 46 5
based on educational background
6 Controlling teachers and students 18 38 6
discipline
7 Improving performance of students in 15 31 7
national examinations
8 Promoting community education on 10 21 8
school board roles
Source: Field Data (2016)
84
Table 4.2.3 reveals the most frequently mentioned strategies that include the

following:Government and stake holders to provide funds for running board

activities (92%). This was followed byconducting regular orientation courses and

training to school board members (77%) and strengthening cooperation among

school boards, teachers, parents and community (73%). In addition,avoiding

political interference (65%), appointment of competent board members (46%) and

promoting community education on school board roles (28%) were the other

mentioned strategies to redress the challenges faced by school boards.

The findings from the interviews reveal that, 6 (100%) heads of schools,6 (100%)

teachers‟ representatives in the school boards, 6 (100%)school boards chair persons

and the DSEO stated financial support from government and other educational stake

holders asthe strategy to redress the challenges faced by school boards in managing

community secondary school. During the interview, three heads of schools informed

the researcher that, they need financial support from the government and other

educational stake holders. The funds will be used to organize the school board

meetings including paying for their transport as well as seating allowances. Also,one

of the school board chairpersons from school C asserted that, availability of funds

will enable the school board members to attend different seminars and workshops so

that they will be equipped with management skills.

In addition, teachers‟ representatives in school boards informed the researcher that,

the majority of the school boards are unemployed therefore when there are sufficient

fundsit can be used to motivate the members to perform their responsibility of

managing the school effectively.

85
Similarly, a teacher representative from school D suggested that:
“Availability of sufficient funds will enable school head to
motivate members of school board who were committed to
their work as they spent a lot of time discussing school
matters while they are unemployed”(Interviewed teacher
representative in school boardApril, 2016)
In addition, the school board chair person from school E explained that, the provision

of sufficient funds from the government and other educational stake holders will

enable school boards to effectively perform its role:

“Currently, school board meetings were rarely done due lack

of transport and seating allowance for the school board
members. As the result, when meetingswere conducted, the
attendance of school board members was poor.Therefore
sufficient fund is required” (Interviewed,school board chair
person, April, 2016)

Furthermore, the DSEO supported this by asserting the following during the

interviews:

“…Although the government has been working hard to

provide funds to public secondary schools year after year,
other stake holders should also contribute to support the
government contributions”. (Interviewed DSEO, April, 2016)

This finding agrees with HakiElimu (2011) which reported that, the budgetary
allocation for the MoEVT was decreasing from one financial year to another. Such
little budget allocation to the ministry highly affected effective management of
schools.

Further, the findings from the interviews reveal that, 6 (100%) heads of schools, 6

(100%) teachers‟ representatives in the school boards, 6 (100%)school boards chair

persons and the DSEO stated regular orientation and training as the strategy to

redress the challenges faced by school boards in managing community secondary

school. As stated earlier, one of the head of school in school A commended that, he

86
has more than six years in the current school whereby no any training has been

conducted to school board members. From his point of view, newly appointed

members were only given orientation by the head of school regarding their roles and

responsibilities.

Also, one of the teacher representative from school B commended that: appointment

of school board member should be made from competent people with requisite

professional skills, academic qualifications and knowledge of some school

management issues.

In addition, a school board chair person from school C commended that:

“…School boards were mandated to supervise and manage

community secondary schools. One of their roles is to
monitor funds and to approve school reports both physical
and financial, while on the hand they do not possess any
skills regarding planning and budgeting, what do you
expect?.”(Interviewed, school board chair person, April,
2016)

Similarly, one of the teacher representative in school elaborated that, some school

board members were ignorant of some important educational documents such as the

curriculum of which they were supposed to supervise its implementation. So training

to these members before they assume their responsibilities is of paramount important.

In addition to the above findings, the DSEO supported that, since he reported in the

District 2008, there were no training done to school board members. He argued that:

“Training in financial school management is fundamental

and helps to prepare and equip SMTs and school boards with
the necessary financial skills. This training enables both the
SMTs and the school boards to be responsible and
accountable for the funds that have been received for the
attainment of the specific school objectives” (Interviewed
DSEO, April, 2016)

87
He added that, for the school boards to effectively perform their roles effectively,

regular training is significantly required in the district. The findings imply that,

regular training to school board members in Kiteto District need to be addressed for

the school board members to effectively utilize the scarce available human and

physical resources.

This finding resemble with that of Price Water House Coopers (2008) who argue that

for governors to be effective in discharging their roles and responsibilities, it is

important that they undergo induction training especially new governors and in-

service training for experienced governors. The author reports that induction is very

beneficial to newly appointed governors because it improves their effectiveness on

their roles and also makes them aware of developments that may affect their school

and their roles as governors. This was also echoed by McCrone et al., (2011) who

added that training providesgovernors with a good level of knowledge

andunderstanding to carry out their roles effectively. Similarly, the findings matched

with that of Masue (2010) who asserted that promoting effectiveness of local level

institutions in terms of role accomplishment requires adequate capacity building in

terms of skills and knowledge capabilities along with other measures such as

ensuring adequate resources and accountability mechanisms.

Furthermore, promoting joint cooperation among teachers, parents and school boards

were suggested by 5 (83%) heads of schools, 4 (67%) teachers‟ representatives in

the school boards, 5 (83%) school boards chair persons and the DSEO as one of the

strategy in overcoming the challenges faced by school boards in managing

community secondary schools. Three heads of schools, explained that, for the school

boards to effectively manage students indiscipline such as truancy, joint cooperation

88
from different stake holders is required. In this case it is not possible for teachers to

handle students‟ truancy if parents were reluctant in making follow up of their

children when they were out of school environment. In addition, the two school

board chair persons argued that, effective school management depend on the

cooperation between school and the surrounding community. When the cooperation

is poor it may results to conflicts especially those related to boundaries between

schools and their surrounding community.

Similarly, during the interview the teacher representative in school board from school

E contended that, improving students‟ academic performance need regular meetings

between parents, teachers, students and a school board. When these stake holders

agreed on common goals, then it will be easier for each group to implement their

roles. Further more, the DSEO recommended that, mobilising funds from parents and

other educational stake holders for school developments need a joint effort. He

further argued that, in schools where students‟ meals were not delivered, then one

reason among others was poor cooperation among school boards, teachers and

parents.

The findings comply with those of Douglas (2013) who asserted that, parents

contributed heavily to the development of infrastructure and academic progress of

the school. He further recommended that the involvement of sponsors, parents,

teachers and various governing bodies in secondary schools management was viewed

as a move towards improving efficiency of educational institutions. Also, the

findings concur with those of Mulengeki (2004) who recommended that in order to

improve the extent of community participation in school activities, some measures

and strategies are required to ensure that school curricula include community

89
oriented programmes. Second, schools and communities coexist in a reciprocal

relationship, with each being motivated by expectations of the other to contribute and

participate in the development of the partnership. Lastly, communication between the

two should be improved and made efficient

In addition, another frequently mentioned strategy to redress the challenges faced by

school boards in managing community secondary school was to avoid political

interference. In their responses,4 (67%) heads of schools, 3 (50%) teachers‟

representatives in the school boards, 4 (67%)school boards chair persons and the

DSEOstated this strategy. During the interview three heads of schools from schools

B, D and E explained that, there is political interference during the nomination of

school board members. They reported that, the head of school has the mandate of

appointing the names of the school board members which were submitted to the

WDC for screening out the possible candidates. During the process, some ward

councillors do eliminate the names of the competent members and adding weak

members. As the results, the board was comprised of members representing the

interest of the political leaders. In order to get competent members, appointment

should be based on educational background of the members among other factors.

Also, another school board chairperson from school D commended that, there was

political interference during the construction of classrooms and laboratories. He

added that, funds deposited in the school development accounts is supposed to be

monitored by the school board. Unfortunately, political leaders interferes the board

roles by demanding that, they have the authority on school expenditure.In addition,

the head of school from school E informed the researcher that, the ward councillor

interfere the nomination process of school board members by demanding that, as a

90
ward councillor he is supposed to be a member of school board. According to board

establishment order, a ward councillor is not a member of school board.

During the interview, the DSEO commended that, in some schools there were

conflicts regarding the boundaries between schools and the surrounding community.

These conflicts normally have their roots from political influence. He further

elaborated that, in school B, there was misunderstanding between school board and

the community surrounding the school originated from ward councillor who claimed

that a school has excess land while the neighbours were suffering from scarcity of

land. As the result, the school area was invaded by the neighbours. For the school

boards to manage schools effectively political interference must be avoided and

political leaders should work hand in hand with the boards.

The findings concurs with those of Campbell (2012) who observed that, even with

the best possible support, school boards face political dynamics that limit their

effectiveness. Without some important changes to the role of school boards and the

incentives under which they operate, they will be doomed to cycles of crises and

ineffectiveness.

The findings imply that, respondents were aware of the strategies to be used to

redress the challenges faced by school boards in managing community secondary

schools that include, financial support from government and other educational stake

holders, training to school board members, promoting joint cooperation among

different educational stake holders and avoiding political interference

Generally, with respect to scientific management theory, for school board to perform

its roles efficiently and effectively the criteria for appointment of school board

91
members need amendment by appointing the qualified members, proper cooperation

among different educational stake holders such as parents, students, staff and board

members need to be strengthened. In addition, orientation, workshop and training

should be emphasized especially for the newly appointed members. Moreover, the

issue of motivation for school board members required to be implemented for boards

to perform their duties efficiently and effectively.

92
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the summary of the major findings of the study, concluding

remarks followed by recommendations on some important issues observed in this

study and laterthe areas for further studies were proposed

5.1 Summary of the Study

This study aimed at investigatingthe challenges faced by school boards in managing

community secondary schools in Kiteto district. The study had three objectives

which were; to assess the awareness of school board members on their roles of

managing community secondary schools in Kiteto District; to identify challenges

faced by school boards in managing community secondary schools; to suggest

appropriate strategies that can be used to address the challenges faced by school

boards in order to improve their roles in managing community secondary schools.

The study has been guided by scientific management and system theories. Also the

study employed a cross-sectional research design dominated by qualitative research

approach and supported by some elements of quantitative approach. During data

collection, interviews, questionnaires, and documentary review were tools used to

gather information. Also stratified, simple random and purposive samplings were the

sampling techniques used in obtaining the sample of the study. The sample

comprised of 67 respondents from five categories which include 48 school board

members, 6 board chairpersons, 6 head of schools, 6 teachers‟ representatives in

school boards, and DSEO. Qualitative datafrom interviews, and documentary review

were analysed through content analysis while quantitative data from questionnaires

93
were analysed using SPSSversion 20 computer softwareand presented in to mean,

frequencies and percentages. In addition, the validity and reliability of research

instruments and research methods were guaranteed through supervisors‟

consultation, peer review, triangulation and pilot study before the beginning of actual

data collection. In addition, ethical procedures were observed through getting

permission from all relevant authorities.

5.2 Summary of the Finding

The study found that, the majority of the school board members were aware on the

roles they play in managing community secondary schools such as; monitoringof

income and expenditure, handling students and teachers discipline and ensuring

availability of teaching and learning materials in schools. In addition, the school

board members were aware that one of their roles was to improve school

infrastructure and students performance.

In addition, the study revealed that financial constraints, lack of orientation and

training to school board members, political interference, lack of cooperation among

parents, teachers, school boards and community as well as inadequate skills to

approve the WSDPs and budget were among the challenges faced by school boards

in managing community secondary schools.

Moreover, the findings imply that, school board members were aware of the

strategies to be employed in redressing the challenges faced by school boards. This

includes government and stake holder financial support, regular training to school

board members to equip them with management skills. Also, avoiding political

interference and promoting cooperation among different educational stake holders

94
were some of the stated strategies in addressing challenges faced by community

secondary school.

5.3 Conclusions

Basing on the findings of this study which have been discussed in the foregoing

sections, the following conclusion have been drawn:

i. School board services are vital for the proper management of community

secondary schools. Therefore Seminars and training of school board members

is necessary for making them aware of their responsibility.

ii. The current prevailing state of insufficient funds for school development,

affects the roles of school boards in managing community secondary schools

in Tanzania and particularly in Kiteto district. Therefore there is an

immediate need for the government and different educational stake holders

cooperate in supporting school boards to perform its roles.

iii. Cooperation among different educational stake holders such as parents,

teachers‟ school boards and community need to be strengthened for effective

functioning of the school boards.

iv. The heads of schools should work hand in hand with the school boards and

they should appoint members of school boards with the required

qualifications

v. There is a need for community education on the roles of school board so that

they will support them

vi. Incentives to be considered to support board members in order to improve

their effectiveness

95
5.4Recommendations

5.4.1 Recommendations for Action

It is recommended from the study findings that:

i. Special programmes should be put in place for seminars and training of

school board members. This will add more knowledge and skills to members

especially in the areas of planning and budgeting. In addition, it must ensure

that board members knows their roles, mandate and privileges and therefore

protect themselves against making decision in an irrational manner.

ii. Different educational stake holders such as parents, community, teachers and

the government should work hand in hand with the school boards. This will

enable the school boards to ensure that teaching and learning process in

schools are in success to achieve better academic results.

iii. The government through responsible ministries and other education

stakeholders should provide more funds so as to ensure that, all public

secondary schools are provided with enough funds. This may be done through

consulting internal and external donors, fund-raising, and contribution from

students‟ parents and guardians as well as from local community as education

stakeholders.

iv. To alleviate the problem of inadequate funding from the government, school

boards should be encouraged to start income generating activities. The

government can partner with agricultural field officers to help identify the

kind of income generating activities for schools.

v. There should be transport and seating allowances for school board members

especially for activities which consume a lot of time and energy. This will

96
 increase their morale and attract other people to volunteer after four years of

service

5.4.2 Recommendations for Policy

Basing on the findings, ideas from different literal works and my own experience, it

is recommended that:

i. The minimum academic qualification of at least diploma level for

appointment as a member of school board in any education institution should

be considered.Also, immediately on appointment the board members should

undergo some orientation before they assume their responsibility.

ii. The criteria for appointing school board members should be reviewed to

include competent members with various skills such as finance, planning and

laws

5.4.3 Areas for Further Research

i. A study should be conducted on the relationship between the effectiveness of

members of school board who attended required training and those who did

not

ii. A study should be conducted on the significance of school boards in

promoting school- community relationship to minimize unnecessary conflicts

between them.

97
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 APPENDICES

Appendix I: Interview guideto Heads of Schools

1. For how long have you been the head of school in this school?

2. How many of school boards members are (i)University graduates (ii) Diploma holders
(iii) Certificate level (iv) Standard seven

3. Is the educational level considered in appointing the members of school board?

YES/NO

4. Are the newly appointed school board members given an orientation / training
course ontheir duties before they take responsibility?

5. For how long can a school board member serve?

6. How often are the school board meetings held in a year?

7. What do you discuss in the meetings?

8. What are the roles of school boards in managing community secondary schools?

9. Does the School have any income generating projects?

10. Is the school board involved in approving the Whole School Development Plan
and itsimplementation?

11. Are the members of the school board given transport and seating allowance?

12. What challenges are facing school boards in managing community secondary
schools?

13. What strategies can be employed to overcome thechallenges faced by school

boards inmanaging community secondary schools?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION

106
Appendix II: Interview Guide to Teachers Representatives in the School Boards
1. For how long have you been a teacher in this school?
2. How many of school boards members are: (i) University graduates (ii) Diploma
holders (iii) Certificate level (iv) Standard seven

3. Is the educational level considered in appointing the members of school board?

YES/NO

4. Are the newly appointed school board members given an orientation / training
course ontheir duties before they take responsibility?

5. For how long can a school board member serve?

6. How often are the school board meetings held in a year?

7. What do you discuss in the meetings?

8. What are the roles of school boards in managing community secondary schools?

9. Does the School have any income generating projects?

10. Is the school board involved in approving the Whole School Development Plan
and its implementation? YES/NO

11. Are the members of the school board given transport and seating allowance?

12. What challenges are facing school boards in managing community secondary
schools?

13. What strategies can be employed to overcome thechallenges faced by school

boards inmanaging community secondary schools?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION

107
 Appendix III: Interview Guide to School Board Chairpersons
1. For how long have you been a board member in this school?
2. How many of school boards members are: (i) University graduates (ii) Diploma
holders (iii) Certificate level (iv) Standard seven

3. Is the educational level considered in appointing the members of school board?

YES/NO

4. Are the newly appointed school board members given an orientation / training
course on their duties before they take responsibility? YES/NO

5. For how long can a school board member serve?

6. How often are the school board meetings held in a year?

7. What do you discuss in the meetings?

8. What are the roles of school boards in managing community secondary schools?

9. Does the School have any income generating projects?

10. Is the school board involved in approving the Whole School Development Plan
and itsimplementation? YES/NO

11. Are the members of the school board given transport and seating allowance?

12. What challenges are facing school boards in managing community secondary
schools?

13. What strategies can be employed to overcome thechallenges faced by school

boards in managing community secondary schools?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION

108
 Appendix IV: Interview Guideto DSEO
1. For how long have you been a DSEO in this District
2. How many of school boards members are (i) University graduates (ii) Diploma
holders (iii) Certificate level (iv) Standard seven

3. Is the educational level considered in appointing the members of school board?

YES/NO

4. Are the newly appointed school board members given an orientation / training
course on their duties before they take responsibility? YES/NO

5. For how long can a school board member serve?

6. How often are the school board meetings held in a year?

7. What do they discuss in the meetings?

8. Do you think school board members are aware of their roles in managing
communitysecondary schools?

9. Do Schools in your District have any income generating projects?

10. Are the school boards involved in approving the Whole School Development
Plans and their implementations? How?

11. Are the members of the school board given transport and seating allowance?

12. What challenges are facing school boards in managing community secondary
schools?

13. What strategies can be employed to overcome thechallenges faced by school

boards inmanaging community secondary schools?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION

109
 Appendix V: Questionnairesto School Board Members
Dear Sir/ Madam

The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges faced by school boards in
managing community secondary schools in Kiteto District. The researcher wishes to
state that your opinion / responses shall be handled with utmost confidentiality. In
this regard, please do not indicate your name on the questionnaire.

Instruction

Kindly ensure you answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge.
Please tick or provide information as required.

School Name: _______________Ward Name: ______________

1. What is your gender? Male [ ] Female [ ]

2. What is your age? (a) 18-25 [ ] (b) 26-35 [ ] (c) 36-45 [ ]

(d) 46-55 [] (e) 56 and above

3. What is your is your level of education? (a) Primary [ ] (b) Secondary [ ]

(c) Certificate [ ] (d) diploma [ ] (e) University [ ]

4. What is your position in the school board? _____________________________

5. How long have you served as a member of school board in current school?
________________

6. How many members serve in the school board? (a)1-3 [ ] (b) 4-6 [ ] (c)7-9 [ ] (d)
10-12[ ] (e) 12-14 [ ] (f) 15 and above.

8. How often are the school board meetings held in a year? (a) Once [ ] (b) Twice [ ]

(c) Thrice [ ] (d) more than four [ ] (e) When need arises [ ]

9. For most statements in this section, the abbreviations SA- Strongly Agree, A-
Agree, UD-Undecided, DA- Disagree, and SD- Strongly Disagree appear. Put a
tick (√) only in one box for each statement. If you make a mistake, put a cross
through the marked box and then tick the correct box.

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Table 1.1 The Role of School Boards in Managing Community Secondary
Schools

Item Statement SA A UD D SD

a School boards usually make evaluation on

students examination results

b School board can contribute to students

performance

c School board is involved in shaping the

discipline of our students and teachers

d School board play an important role in

initiating school projects

e School board usually approve the whole

school development plan and budget

f School board play part in monitoring the

school budget

g School board is involved in curriculum

implementation

h School board play part in improving school

infrastructure

Table 1.2Challenges faced by school Boards in Managing Community

Secondary Schools
Item Statement SA A UD D SD

a Some school board members do not attend

board meetings

b Newly appointed school board members are

not given orientation course before assuming
their responsibility

c During the school board meetings transport

and seating allowance are not available

d Majority of school board members did not

training on management roles and leadership

111
 e There is poor cooperation among teachers,
school board, parents, and community

f Politics sometimes interfere board activities

g Majority of school board members were not

committed to their roles

h Head of school is not willing to work with

school board

10. As a school board member, what are your roles in managing community
secondaryschools?

11. What challenges are facing school boards in managing community secondary
schools?

12. What strategies can be employed to overcome thechallenges faced by school

boards inmanaging community secondary schools?

112
 Appendix VI:Documentary Guide
1. DSEO,s Office

 Number of secondary schools in Kiteto District

 Structure of school Board
 Education Acts
 School Board Establishment Order

2. Heads of Schools Offices

 WSDPs
 Quotation forms
 Invitation for bids
 Contract for purchasing goods and services
 Education Acts
 Structure of school board
 School board meeting minutes
 Parent meeting minutes
 Discipline committee minutes
 Financial and physical reports

iii. School Boards Chairpersons

 Education Acts
 board minutes
 Structure of school board
 Quotation forms

113
 3. (b) School Board meeting minutes

Table 1.3 (c) Analysis on the Agenda Discussed in the School Board Meetings

Agenda discussed in School School School School School School F %

the school board A B C D E F

meetings

School infrastructure

Parental involvement

Construction and

maintenance

Students‟ and

teachers‟ discipline

Income and

expenditure

Students‟ meals

Remedial teachings

Students performance

Motivation for

students and teachers

Curriculum

implementation

Approving WSDPs

114
Appendix VII: The Government School Board (Establishment) Order (Section
38(1)

G.N. No. 304 of 2002

1. Citation and application

This Order may be cited as the Government School Board (Establishment)

Order and shall apply to every GovernmentSchool.

2. Interpretation

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires–

"Act" means the Education Act *;

"Appointing authority" means the Region al Commissioner;

"Commissioner" shall have the same meaning ascribed to it under the Act;

"GovernmentSchool" means directly maintained by the Ministry of

Education and a Local Authority;

"Head of School" includes the Principal of any TeachersTrainingCollege for

which a School Board has been established;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for education;

"Region al Education Officer" means any education officer appointed to be

in charge of education services in a Region and includes any person to whom

he delegates his duties;

"School Board" means a Board established by this Order responsible for the

management, development, planning, discipline and finance of a Government

school;

"Teacher/Parents Association" means an association of teachers and parents

of a Government school and parents.

115
3. Establishment of School Board

There is hereby established a School Board to be known as the School Board

for each Government school.

4. Composition of School Board

Every School Board for a Government school shall have the following

members who shall be approved by the Region al Commissioner–

(a) one member representing the voluntary organization if that school was

originally established by that voluntary organization;

(b) the Region al Education Officer or his representative who shall be a

senior education officer in the Region ;

(c) the Head of the School;

(d) one member representing the academic staff;

(e) not more than five members appointed by the Region al

Commissioner upon recommendation of the Region al Education

Officer;

(f) two members appointed by the Region al Commissioner upon

recommendation of the Head of School; and

(g) two members co-opted by the Board during its first sitting.

5. Chairman of School Board

(1) The Board shall elect its Chairman among the members specified

under paragraph 4(1)(e):

Provided the Chairman of the School Board shall be neither the

Region al Education Officer nor a member of the academic staff of the

school.

116
 (2) The Board shall elect one of the Board members to be Vice-Chairman

who shall preside whenever the Chairman is absent, provide that there

shall be neither a REO nor a member representing the academic staff.

(3) The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board.

(4) In the absence of both the Chairman, and the Vice-Chairman the

members present shall elect among themselves a temporary Chairman

to preside over the meeting.

6. Tenure of office, resignations, casual vacancies

(1) A member of the School Board shall hold office for a term of four

years and may be eligible for another further term.

(2) A member of the School Board shall cease to be a member if–

(a) he resigns by giving a notice in writing addressed to the

nominating or co-opting authority;

(b) he has moved to another Region or the appointing authority

has revoked his appointment; and

(c) he dies or is permanently incapacitated.

7. Meetings and procedure

(1) The School Board shall hold its meetings four times a year but shall

have the right to meet more than four times when necessary.

(2) The Head of School shall be the Secretary to the School Board.

(3) The Secretary shall notify each member within not less than 15 days

the date of the meeting.

117
 (4) The Secretary shall convene a special meeting of the Board upon

receipt of request in writing in that behalf signed by not less than six

members of the Board.

(5) At any meeting, a decision by the majority of members present shall

be upheld and the Chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to

his deliberative vote.

(6) A meeting shall be unlawful if the quorum has less than one half of its

members.

(7) A Board may invite any person to its meetings for proper

deliberations of proceedings but such a person shall not be entitled to

vote.

(8) The Secretary of the School Board shall keep minutes of its

proceedings and distribute them to its members, the Commissioner

and the Region al Commissioner.

(9) The School Board may formulate its own regulations for proper

conduct of its proceedings.

8. Functions of the School Board

(1) The School Board shall have management and supervisor powers to–

(a) review and direct the Head of School in respect of the

management development, planning, discipline and finance for

the school of which the Board has been established;

(b) discuss matters related to implementation of education policy

in Tanzania and make recommendations to the Commissioner

as appropriate;
118
 (c) direct the Head of School on any matter that may be referred

to the School Board by the Commissioner;

(d) advise the Commissioner on any matter that may be referred to

the School Board by him;

(e) promote better education and welfare of the school;

(f) initiate projects and programmes for the general progress of

the school and do any other activities within its capacity;

(g) solicit contributions, donations, and engage in income

generating activities for the development and welfare of the

school;

(h) ensure that the teachers of the school abide by the code of

professional conduct as stipulated under the Teachers Service

Commission Regulations, 1989;

(i) suspend any teacher on disciplinary grounds, misconduct or

inefficiency or any act likely to cause disharmony in the

school and inform the Commissioner immediately of such an

action;

(j) prescribe the kind of uniform to be worn by the pupils;

(k) facilitate formation of a Parent – Teachers Association.

(2) Subject to the general and specific directions by the Commissioner,

the Board shall have the power to suspend or dismiss a pupil on

commission of an offence warranting such punishment.

9. Revocation

[Revokes the Government School Board (Establishment) Order *.]

119
Appendix VIII: Permission Letter from the University of Dodoma

120
Appendix IX: Permission Letter from DAS

121
Appendix X: Permission Letter from DED

122