Financial management of fee-paying public primary schools during the pandemic in Ehlanzeni district

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating the experiences of school governing bodies (SGBs) in fee-paying public primary schools in Ehlanzeni district in Mpumalanga province regarding the financial impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. While the financial state of many South African public schools is often dire, the Covid-19 pandemic produced a worst-case scenario. Many parents around the country did not pay school fees, claiming that their children were not attending school, among other reasons (Mhlanga & Moloi, 2020). Although fee-paying public schools receive a grant from the state, this money is not sufficient as they are given approximately six times less funding than no-fee public schools in Quintiles 1 to 3 (NNSSF, 1998). Fee-paying public schools source their finances mainly from the school fees that are paid by parents (Myende et al., 2020. With the Covid-19 pandemic and other similar global pandemics that came before, this implies that there might be other pandemics in future and strategies for financing schools and proper financial management remain crucial. This study pursued a qualitative approach and interpretivism was used as the research paradigm. A total sample of twenty participants (five principals, five SGB chairpersons, five SGB treasurers and five finance officers) from the five selected fee-paying public schools were interviewed. Data analysis commenced during the interview process, to avoid the risk of making premature assumptions and conclusions. The findings reveal that most schools battled to manage their finances during the Covid-19 pandemic. The strategies they used to collect school fees were not effective, and parents were not convinced that they should pay while their children were not attending school. In addition, it was found that most SGBs do not have plans to manage their finances differently should there be another pandemic in future. Finally, the findings reveal possible strategies SGBs could employ to collect school fees from parents during a pandemic.