Budget Constraints and the Management of Education Credits in Cameroon: Pathways to Efficiency and Sustainability

Abstract

This study inquired into the educational management strategies that generate best possible outcomes with a given amount of resources. It birthed from the need to attempt solution to the apparent inefficiencies that characterize educational institutions in Cameroon and in other countries in the world. Attention was on secondary education. The research adopted the survey design, specifically the qualitative method. The simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 13, from a total of 18 secondary schools—public and private of the English sub-system of education that consistently scored high (above 95%) in the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination—Ordinary and Advance Levels during the years 2012 to 2016. Research data was collected through in-depth interviews held with the heads of the sampled institutions; interest was the resource management strategies that placed schools in the academic spotlight notwithstanding the general insufficiency of resources. Responses were analysed using the process of thematic analysis, with leaning on positivism. The process was facilitated by the use of Atlas Ti 5.2 (Atlas Ti GMBH 2006). Findings revealed a number of complementary strategies employed by the schools studied, including focus on essential curricula, presence of articulated mission and focused vision, close instructional supervision, prioritizing only essential expenditures in the school budget and strict control and demand for accountability. The researcher proposed for decisions on education and school management to factor in the need to clearly define the mission and vision for education/school, revise and adapt the curriculum to current needs and scale down the number of subjects, channel effort and resources to the learning of essential curricula, provide more instructional supervisory support to teachers, etc.