Schoolboard members’ involvement in school governance: A case of five schools in Omuthiya circuit, Oshikoto, Namibia

Abstract

School board members are facing numerous challenges in their delivery process right across Namibia. The challenges being faced in these boards are affecting schools in various ways. The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by school board members in Omuthiya circuit in service delivery processes. The study adopted a qualitative research strategy to collect data from 14 participants who were selected through the purposive sampling strategy. The study set to achieve the following objectives: (a) To investigate the role of the school boards in the administration of the schools in Omuthiya circuit. (b) To determine the challenges faced by School Board Members in the administration of schools in Omuthiya Circuit. (c) To make some recommendations on how the challenges faced by the school board members can be mitigated in the circuit in order to improve their administration. The findings of the study indicated that the school board members had a major role to play in deciding who should teach and who should not, by recommending appointments of teachers, recommend dismissal of staff members, manage school finances and manage the discipline of both teachers and learners. The study also found that the roles of school boards in management of schools had challenges that included irregular meeting attendance, lack of finances, blamed for failures and lack of knowledge of school governance and lack of cooperation between members. Based on these findings, the study recommended for the school board members training before resuming their duties. The study further recommended for increased involvement of school boards in school responsibilities. In addition, it was also recommended that there is a need to encourage team work among school board members.