Management of infrastructure in non-fee-paying schools in a selected South African province

Abstract

Schools whose governing bodies only have Section 20 functions according to the South African Schools Act and are non-fee-paying-schools are disadvantaged in that they can only administer and control infrastructure but are not empowered to improve it. Non-fee-paying schools receive all their funds from the state, and these funds are ring-fenced to be spent on specific areas, of which maintenance of infrastructure is one. The question thus arises as to what happens if the funds allocated to a school are not sufficient to maintain the physical infrastructure of the school. The primary aim of this research study was therefore to explore how infrastructure is managed in non-fee-paying schools in a selected South African province. This study is anchored on the management functions theory and participatory governance theory as its theoretical framework. This study employed a qualitative research approach with a case study design. The participants in the study were selected from six (6) primary and six (6) secondary non-fee-paying schools, and from four (4) district offices in the selected province. The individual participants in this study included twelve (12) school principals and twelve (12) school governing body chairpersons from the twelve (12) participating non-fee-paying schools, and eight (8) infrastructure-attached officials, two (2) from each participating district office. To this end, the data collection strategies included semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings suggest that the national Department of Basic Education and the provincial Department of Education have centralised the management of infrastructure in non-fee-paying schools. They are employing excessive bureaucratic management processes which are not only hampering the effective management of infrastructure in non-fee-paying schools but are also undermining the principles of participatory governance in these schools. This has resulted in the participating schools experiencing overwhelming infrastructure backlogs which are worsened by the insufficient funding to meet the infrastructure needs of non-fee-paying schools.