Title:
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY AS A TOOL FOR EFFECTIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTH WEST REGION OF CAMEROON

Authors:
Patrick Kongnyuy (Ph.D)

Abstract:
The general purpose of this work was to find out how delegation of authority affects effective school management. Specifically, it sought to (1) Determining the extent to which delegation of authority can contribute to effective school management (2) Examining whether delegation of authority affects the provision of quality education in schools (3) Finding out the relationship between a principal’s philosophy of delegation of authority and the teaching learning process. Based on this, the following hypotheses were formulated to guide the researcher in this study; Delegation of authority does not significantly contribute to effective school management; There is no significant relationship between delegation of authority and the provision of quality education in schools: The principal’s philosophy of delegation of authority has no significant effect on the teaching learning process. Out of a population of 147 teachers and administrators, a sample of 69 out of 138 teachers was selected from different schools through a simple random sampling technique while 9 were purposively selected. A selfconstructed semi- structured questionnaire was used whose reliability was ascertained through the test re-test with a reliability coefficient of 0. 82. The research adopted a mixed method in collecting data. That is, self-delivery, the use of research assistants and social media services (mostly via WhatsApp and few emails) due to insecurity in the North West Region of Cameroon. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the instruments. Findings revealed that delegation of authority has a significant influence on the provision of quality education in schools with calculated X2 value of 11.05; the principal’s philosophy of delegation of authority has no significant relationship with the teaching learning process (3.07); and that there is a significant relationship between delegation of authority and the provision of quality education in schools (12.7). It was recommended amongst others that principals should constantly follow-up teachers whom they delegate authority to and that policy makers should instruct delegates to organized seminars, instructing them on the need to implement delegation of authority in their schools, school administrator should involve teachers by using their creative minds for the achievement of school objectives.

Keywords:
Delegation of Authority, Quality Education, Effective Management, Cameroon

DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.37500/IJESSR.2020.3624