Managing Budgets in Crisis, Ensuring Quality Primary Education

Abstract

This article examines how Section 21 primary schools in the Lejweleputswa Education District sustained quality education during COVID 19 through financial leadership and management. Guided by the Theory of Financial Control, the study adopted an interpretive, qualitative phenomenological design. Ten participants, five principals and five SGB treasurers, were purposively selected. Data were generated through semi structured interviews and analysed thematically. Ethical principles were observed and included informed consent, confidentiality, and voluntary participation. Four themes emerged. Budgetary constraints stemmed from declining fee income and rising costs for sanitation, PPE, and continuity of learning. Effective budgeting techniques included incremental and zero-based approaches, frequent reprioritisation, and strengthened financial management. Adapting to emergency expenditures required rapid realignment of plans, yet the absence of contingency funds strained routine operations. Exploring alternative funding sources involved partnerships, virtual fundraising, and grants to support essential services and digital tools. The study concludes that targeted training for principals and SGBs, robust internal controls, contingency planning, and diversified revenue streams are critical for resilience. Findings inform policy and capacity building aimed at safeguarding educational quality during present and future disruptions.

Keywords

• Financial management
• Budgetary constraints
• Alternative funding sources
• Primary education
• school leadership

Kriz Dönemlerinde Bütçe Yönetimi ve Nitelikli İlköğretimin Sağlanması

Abstract

No abstract in Turkish. I cannot get past this stage if I do not write some text here. My apologies if I had to translate the English to Turkish.

Keywords

• No Turkish keywords
• Cannot list keywords
• in Turkish

References

1. Adeoye-Olatunde, O. A., & Olenik, N. L. (2021). Research and scholarly methods: Semi-structured interviews. Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, 4(10), 1358-1367. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1441
2. Aina, A. Y., & Bipath, K. (2020). School financial management: Insights for decision making in public primary schools. South African Journal of Education, 40(4), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n4a1756
3. Böhmer, B., & Van der Berg, S. (2024). South Africa: COVID-19 learning losses and attempts at recovery in a poorly performing and unequal education system. In N. Crato & H. A. Patrinos (Eds.), Improving national education systems after COVID-19 (pp. 153–169). Springer.
4. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.58837/CHULA.PPJ.39.8
5. Casteel, A., & Bridier, N. L. (2021). Describing populations and samples in doctoral student research. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 16, 339-362. https://doi.org/10.28945/4766
6. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
7. Dahal, N., Neupane, B. P., Pant, B. P., Dhakal, R. K., Giri, D. R., Ghimire, P. R., & Bhandari, L. P. (2024). Participant selection procedures in qualitative research: Experiences and some points for consideration. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 9, 1512747. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2024.1512747
8. Du Plessis, P. (2020). Implications of COVID-19 on the management of school financial resources in quintile 5 public schools. South African Journal of Education, 40(4), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n4a2043

9. Gehman, J., Glaser, V. L., Eisenhardt, K. M., Gioia, D., Langley, A., & Corley, K. G. (2018). Finding theory–method fit: A comparison of three qualitative approaches to theory building. Journal of Management Inquiry, 27(3), 284-300. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492617706029
10. Gregar, J. (2016). Research design (qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches). Research Design, 8. http://e-pedagogium.upol.cz/pdfs/epd/2016/04/08.pdf
11. Gustafsson, M., & Deliwe, C. N. (2020). How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting educational quality in South Africa: Evidence to date and future risks. Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch. https://cramsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Gustafsson.-Nuga.-How-is-the-COVID-19-pandemic-affecting-educational-quality-in-South-Africa_-1.pdf
12. Gustafsson, M., & Taylor, N. (2022). The politics of improving learning outcomes in South Africa (Political Economy Paper PE03). Research on Improving Systems of Education. https://admin.jet.org.za/resources/politics_improving_learning_outcomes_south_africa.pdf/@@download/file/Politics_Improving_Learning_Outcomes_South_Africa.pdf
13. Hassan, E., Groot, W., & Volante, L. (2025). The relationship between education funding and student performance in Unity Schools in Nigeria. Education Sciences, 15(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010086
14. Ibrahim, S., Idris, H., Lumat, Y., & Rohana, A. S. (2025). The effect of internal control on funds management by privately run Tahfiz schools in Klang Valley. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v13-i2/16759
15. Khan, N. (2020). Critical review of sampling techniques in the research process in the world. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3572336
16. King, J., & Mestry, R. (2023). The oversight functions of school governing bodies in the management of budgets. Perspectives in Education, 41(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.38140/pie.v41i4.7512
17. Kona, M. (2022). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s rights to education in South Africa. Economic & Social Rights Review in Africa, 23(2), 16-21. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-esrrev-v23-n2-a4
18. Mandlazi, L. S., & Govender, K. K. (2021). The effectiveness of financial management strategies in public primary schools in South Africa. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(10), 5979–5990. https://turcomat.org/index.php/turkbilmat/article/download/5421/4528/10060
19. Mestry, R. (2020). The effective and efficient management of school fees: Implications for the provision of quality education. South African Journal of Education, 40(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n4a2052
20. Mestry, R. (2023). The principal’s obligation to advance equity in no-fee public schools. Alternation Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2022/sp39a8
21. Motala, S., & Menon, K. (2020). In search of the ‘new normal’: Reflections on teaching and learning during Covid-19 in a South African university. Southern African Review of Education, 26(1), 80-99. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-sare-v26-n1-a6
22. Mykhailova, Y., & Savina, N. (2023). The role of financial flows in crisis management in the education sector. Green, Blue & Digital Economy Journal, 4(3), 52–57. https://doi.org/10.30525/2661-5169/2023-3-8
23. Ngcobo, S., & Ndovela, S. G. (2024). Evaluating financial reporting guidelines in South African public schools: Towards an integrated framework for accountability. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), 13(5), 633–642. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v13i5.3332
24. Ngcobo, X. M., Marimuthu, F., & Stainbank, L. J. (2024). Revenue sourcing for the financial sustainability of a university of technology: An exploratory study. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2295173. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2295173
25. Ngema, B. P., Lukhele, S. P., & Lumadi, R. I. (2024). Examining the experiences of school governing body in handling school funds. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 5(4), 61-94. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijemds.353114
26. Östman, L. (2009). Towards a general theory of financial control for organisations. (SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration No. 2009:9). Stockholm School of Economics. https://swoba.hhs.se/hastba/papers/hastba2009_009.pdf
27. Salmi, J. (2020). COVID’s lessons for global higher education: Coping with the present while building a more equitable future. Lumina Foundation. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED611329
28. Schleicher, A. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on education: Insights from "Education at a Glance 2020". OECD Publishing. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED616315
29. Sepuru, M. G., & Mohlakwana, M. A. (2020). The perspectives of beginner principals on their new roles in school leadership and management: A South African case study. South African Journal of Education, 40(2), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n2a1755
30. Setshogoe, M. R. (2021). Exploring the requirement and conduct of financial training programmes for training of school governing bodies by the Department of Education in the Northwest Province [Doctoral dissertation, North-West University]. https://repository.nwu.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/50ce7b01-3a45-44c3-8925-eaa0cf666f5e/content
31. Soudien, C. (2024). The quest for educational equity in schools in South Africa. Daedalus, 153(4), 146–164. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_02109
32. South Africa. (1996). South African Schools Act 84 of 1996. Government Printer. https://www.gov.za/documents/south-african-schools-act
33. Tanwir, F., Moideen, S., & Habib, R. (2021). Interviews in healthcare: A phenomenological approach A qualitative research methodology. Journal of Public Health International, 4(2), 10-15. https://doi.org/10.14302/issn.2641-4538.jphi-21-3881
34. Tavakol, M., & Sandars, J. (2025). Twelve tips for using phenomenology as a qualitative research approach in health professions education. Medical Teacher, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2025.2478871
35. Tenny, S., Brannan, J. M., & Brannan, G. D. (2022). Qualitative study. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470395/
36. Thompson Burdine, J., Thorne, S., & Sandhu, G. (2021). Interpretive description: A flexible qualitative methodology for medical education research. Medical Education, 55(3), 336-343. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14380
37. UNESCO. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education. UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54675/ASRB4722
38. Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S., & Young, T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 148. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7
39. Wills, G., & van der Berg, S. (2024). COVID-19 disruptions and education in South Africa: Two years of evidence. Development Southern Africa, 41(2), 446–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2024.2311711
40. World Bank. (2025, February 4). South Africa: Transforming the basic education sector can drive inclusive growth. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/02/04/south-africa-afe-transforming-the-basic-education-sector-can-drive-inclusive-growth
41. Zadok, A., Benoliel, P., & Schechter, C. (2024). Organizational resilience and transformational leadership for managing complex school systems. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1333551
42. Zitha, A., Munzhelele, F., & Sirembe, N. (2024). Effectiveness of internal control systems: A case study of a TVET college in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(9). https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v13i9.3808