Cost-related entrepreneurial practices and financing of private secondary school Rubaga Division, Kampala District

Abstract

The study examined the influence of cost-related entrepreneurial practices and the financing of private secondary schools in Rubaga Division Kampala District. It was guided by two objectives namely; to find out the effect of user charges on the financing of private secondary schools; and to examine the impact of payment in kind on the financing of private secondary schools. It adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. This study involved 170 respondents selected from 15 private secondary schools namely 10 head teachers, 10 bursars, and 150 teachers. Research instruments were self-administered questionnaire, interview guide, focus group discussion guide, observation and documentary analysis checklists. The study discovered that; the charging of user fees to overcome inadequate finances available in the school, and payment of especially school requirements in physical assets after due diligence in their profitability, influences effective private school financing. It was therefore, concluded that private schools that charge user fees do not suffer from inadequate finances, although these fees do not solely enable effective private school financing. It was also concluded that, payment in kind is important in financing of private schools though it needs to be well calculated to avoid the losses it may come with. The study recommended that; school administrators should continue charging user fees to compliment tuition fees to avoid inadequacy of funds; but should only accept clearance of fees in kind after equating them with their monetary counterparts.