Budgeting systems in Maltese state schools

Abstract

With the introduction of the decentralisation process in Malta more responsibilities and authority are being delegated to the administrators of Educational Institutions and to School Councils. The Head of School, Assistant Heads and other staff play an important role in the financial decisions of schools. The continuous improvements in technology are adding an extra burden on the school's expenditure. Every Head of School tries to provide its students with the latest learning technologies to ensure that the best level of education is achieved. For this reason a good budgeting process is required. Normally this consists of four stages: budget planning, formulation and approval, execution and control, and evaluation. This process is of utmost importance in order to allocate scarce resources efficiently, attain operational efficiency, and promote accountability and transparency. The main objective of this study is to examine the budgetary process implemented in State schools, highlighting the merits or weaknesses of the budgetary stages. This evaluation aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness with which the budgetary process is maintained by Heads of School, so as to achieve greater success in meeting the general public's demand for accountability and adequate financial management. The results obtained from this analysis revealed that within schools there exists a reasonable understanding of the prerequisites for an effective budgetary process, resulting in the maintenance of a satisfactory budgetary planning and control system. However there is still room for improvement.