Principals’ Characteristics Influencing Implementation Of Procurement Practices In Public Secondary Schools In Embakasi Sub-County, Nairobi County,

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate principals‟ characteristics influencing the implementation of procurement practices in public secondary schools in Embakasi Sub-County in Nairobi. The study was guided by four objectives namely: to determine the influence of the principals‟ training in implementation of procurement practices in public secondary schools in Embakasi Sub County; to assess the influence of principals‟ experience in implementation of procurement practices in public secondary schools in Embakasi Sub-County; to examine the influence of principals‟ level of awareness in implementation of procurement practices in public secondary schools in Embakasi Sub County; and to assess the influence of principals‟ use of Information Communication Technology in implementation of procurement practices in public secondary schools in Embakasi Sub-County. The study adopted a descriptive survey design to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population of the study was all the (7) registered public secondary schools Embakasi Sub County. The sample for the study was made of 7 principals, 7 BOM members in public secondary schools and 1 district school auditor in Embakasi Sub County, totaling to 15 respondents. The study adopted purposive sampling to get the sample size of all the schools in Embakasi sub-county. A census was applied to get the principals, the district school auditor and the BoM chairpersons who were the key respondents in this study. Questionnaires and an interview guide were used to obtain data from the respondents. Content validity was ensured though expert judgment while reliability of the instruments was done through test-retest method. A one hundred response rate was recorded for this study. The findings were that majority of the principals indicated that their highest academic qualification was a master‟s degree. The principals‟ level of education influenced their competence in management of procurement process in schools to a moderate extent. The findings also revealed that majority respondents indicated that a principal‟s experience affects his or her competence on procurement. The study findings showed that the principals used their knowledge, experience and expertise to enrich their capability to conduct proper procurement in schools. The study also concluded that principals‟ experience, level of awareness, ICT literacy and level of education affected procurement processes at Kenyan public secondary schools to a great extent. The experiences of principals from financial management and other areas that deal with human resources plays a very important role in effective procurement management in secondary schools. The study recommended that the government through the Ministry of Education should organize regular training for principals to help them improve on their procurement management practices in schools.