GUIDELINES FOR BUDGET MANAGEMENT AACORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS UNDER THE OFFICE OF PHRA NAKHON SI AYUTTHAYA PRIMARY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA 1

Abstract

The objectives of this research were as following: 1) to study the state of budget management of schools, 2) to study the methods of budget management of schools according to the principles of good governance, and 3) to propose the guidelines for budget management according to the principles of good governance of schools under the Office of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Primary Educational Service Area 1. The mixed research methods were used in the study. The quantitative data were collected by questionnaires from 186 samples consisting of teachers and school administrators and analyzed by percentage, mean and standard deviation. The qualitative data were collected by in-depth interviews with 5 key-informants and then analyzed by content analysis. The results of the study showed that: 1) The state of budget management of schools was at a high level overall. The descending order started with setting a budget, followed by budget allocation, follow-up and monitoring the budget using, and management of money, accounting and asset respectively. 2) The methods of budget management of schools according to the principles of good governance were as following: (1) Responsibility; there were meetings with personnel responsible for finance and budget, (2) Decentralization; to assign personnel responsible for the budget formally, (3) Participation; stakeholders were welcome to participate in setting the annual operation plan, (4) Efficiency; there were plans and indicators for budget spending, (5) Equality; the budget was distributed to school units equally, and (6) Transparency; there was a set of committee responsible for budget management. 3) The guidelines for budget management according to the principles of good governance of schools under the Office of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Primary Educational Service Area 1 were as following: (1) Effectiveness; there must be work process systematically and effectively, 2) Responsibility; there should be meetings between school administrators and personnel regularly, (3) Decentralization; to assign a particular personnel responsible for the budget, (4) Participation; to invite stakeholders to participate in setting the annual operation plan, (5) Efficiency; there should be plans for budget spending relevant to indicators of each project, (6) Equality; the budget should be distributed to each unit in school equally, and (7) Transparency; there should be a set of committee responsible for budget management.