The Perceptions and Experiences of School Management Teams and Teachers of the Management of Physical Resources in Public Schools

The effective management of physical resources significantly impacts on the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The procurement, utilization and maintenance of physical resources through organized structures, well-designed policies and rigid processes are critical for quality education. According to the South African Schools Act 1996, a governing body is responsible for managing the school’s finances and physical assets. However, most school governing bodies seriously lack essential knowledge and skills to manage both, the finances as well as physical resources effectively, resulting in poor learner performance and low educational outcomes. We administered a structured questionnaire to investigate the management teams and teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the management of physical resources in schools. Findings revealed that many governing bodies lack the necessary financial skills to develop practical budgets and procure physical resources economically for their schools. They are unable to set-up systematic structures and stringent processes, and this has caused wasteful expenditure for schools, and the failure of teachers to maintain and productively use physical resources. Their function to constantly monitor and evaluate the procurement and maintenance of physical resources is seriously lacking. Governors who are proficient will experience very little difficulty in managing the school’s physical resources effectively.