Schools’ Financial Standing and the Implementataion of Public Procurement Regulations in Kenya

This study sough to explore the influence of financial standing on the implementation of public procurement regulations in public secondary schools in Mbooni West sub-County in Makueni County, Kenya. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of school fees payment on the public procurement regulations in public secondary schools in Mbooni-West Sub-County in Makueni County Kenya. The study was guided by Stewardship Theory. Descriptive survey design was used in this study. The study targeted 31 public secondary schools. A total of 31 schools principals were targeted. The study employed simple random sampling method to determine the sample size. The study sampled 29 principle for the study. Two public secondary schools from Mbooni-West Sub-County were used for pilot study which were not used in the actual study. The research tools used for the study were questionnaires. Self-administration of the questionnaires was done by the researcher to the sampled principals. The reliability of the research tools was ascertained through test-re test. The research tools validity was ascertained in schools which were not involved in the actual study. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in a pie chart. The findings shown in the figure 1 indicates that 53 percent of the principals indicated that the school fees payment was irregular. 33percent of the principals indicated that the school fees payment was piece meal while 14 percent of the principals indicated that the school fees payment was regular. Form the findings, it is observed that the school payment was a big challenge. The study recommends that the schools should put in place strict fees payments by the parents. The school principals should be exposed to in-service training on public procurement regulations. The government should release the capitation fund on time to enable the smooth implementation of public procurement policies. The study also recommends that the principals should engage in flexible agreements with the suppliers to finance schools on credit and receive payments when funds are available.