Are School Management Committees Properly Instituted And Are They Functional? The Case of Mayuge District, Uganda

This study was carried out to assess, among other things, the nature of School Management Committees in primary Schools in Mayuge District, Uganda. Specifically, it explored the extent to which School Management Committees are instituted as per the government policy, and the extent to which they are functional. Employing a cross-sectional survey design with qualitative and quantitative approaches, the researcher used a target population which constituted the headteachers, teachers and members of the school management committees of the primary schools in the district, from the three counties that make up the district, namely, Bunya East, Bunya West, and Bunya South. The respondents were got from 68 primary schools out of 173 primary schools in the district. A sample size of 469 respondents was selected. These included teachers, headteachers. Forty-three (43) members of the school management committees were subjected to oral interviews. The findings were that School management committees exist in all primary schools but they are poor in terms of their institution, meetings held and implementing what is decided upon in the meetings. The recommendations were that there is need for the government and civil leaders to hold refresher courses for parents to appreciate their role in participating in the management of primary schools in their localities and to make them properly understand and appreciate their roles as members of the school management committees in case they are elected or appointed.