Managing a Lower Tier Non-Public School, Downfall and Causes
The Non-Public schools in Ghana enroll huge number of pupils and learners. These schools range from preschool level to higher institutions of learning. Non-public schools helps to bridge the gap which otherwise would have been created in Ghanaian society. But with the presence of Non-Public schools, the burden on the arms of the government is lessened by enrolling those who would have been deprived of education.
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Despite the educational gap they help in bridging, majority of the lower tiers are saddled with irregularities. These irregularities sometimes cause their downfall, most especially in the pre-tertiary level. The situation becomes worse off with non-public lower tier schools in the rural areas.
That is why we are taking a glance at some of these irregularities and how to do away with them. Doing these would reduce the rate at which non-public schools collapse.
FIRST POINT
The first irregularity that causes the downfall of lower tier non-public schools in Ghana is non-conformity to good business principles. If you make a selection of ten from non-public lower tier schools, only two of them conform to good business practices. Majority of them especially in the rural communities treats the non-public schools as a personal thing. Yes, it is true; you own it and you set it up with the intention of revenue generation. The downfall of majority of them has got to do with how insensitive some of them are to the business entity concept.
Non-public schools equates to any other business and hence, let no one tells you the opposite. If you want to profit out of it hugely, then you got to comply with the business entity concept. They should be treated as a separate entity other than a personal stuff. All things are done in the name of the school and not in the owners’ name. Nothing should conflict between the owner and the school, if you do this; you create a path for your school to succeed. If you visit the rural settings, many non-public schools are torn apart due to this.
POINT TWO
Because majority of these non-public lower tier schools in the rural settings are not considered indifferently as indicated above, they also suffer from poor administrative practices. Many a time personnel whose services are engaged to provide such administrative support are known persons or family members who lack the know-how. There are not proper laid down structures upon which the school is run. The owner comes in at any time and decides what should be done at any given time.
POINT THREE
To ensure the success of your non-public school, put down a clear sense of purpose and direction, if possible hire the services of a technical person to provide such roles. In all, what I’m trying to say is that poor organisational and administrative contribute to the downfall of such schools and these needs to be checked.
POINT FOUR
The attitude of ‘it’s all about me and not them’ contributes immensely to the collapse of lower tier non-public schools. Note that, the school is an entity whose life depends on two key persons. These persons are the students and the personnel who steer the affairs of the school. These individuals are the reasons for the existence of the institution and they must be treated with care. If their interests begin to dwindle, know that it is the beginning of the downfall of the institution.
To keep these people you should be doing things differently. Note that parents will only show interest in your school and enrol their wards in any non-public school, then it means they are doing things differently from the public schools. You should begin to access the situation about you institution and ask; what is it that we are doing differently? It will surprise to know that almost 90 percent of the non-public lower tier schools in the rural setting do nothing different from the public schools.
POINT FIVE
The worst part of the issue is how the finances of such non-public schools are managed. Since they not are treated indifferently and that the owner sees it as personal institution, the finances are treated in the same manner. All monies received are taken by the owner as and when he/she needs it and nothing is left to keep the school running. Note that, the institution should have it personal account and it is kept separately from the owner’s account.
Monies taken by the owner from the school’s account is treated as withdrawals and vice versa, also the owner is only entitled to dividends at a certain percentage. This will ensure that the school has fund to keep running and to avoid the situation where the owner has to provide monies to cater for recurrent expenditures. So the question here is what if the owner runs out of money? Can the expenditures of such non-public school be undertaken? The answer is simply NO, for the best results; employ the services of an expert to manage the finances of the school.
Note that, the contents above are the opinions of an expert when asked on the problems associated with lower tier non-public schools in Ghana and the best practices which can be adopted.
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