school governance

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF GOVERNANCE

1.0 Introduction

Some people fail to distinguish between the terms Governance and Government. They think that

these two terms mean the same thing and often use them interchangeably. It is therefore important

to distinguish the term governance from government in that on the one hand; governance is the

concrete activity that reproduces a formal or informal organization. If the organization is a formal one, governance is primarily about what the relevant governing body does. If the organization is an informal one, such as a market, governance is primarily about the rules and norms that guide the relevant activity. Whether the organization is a geo-political entity (nation-state), a corporate entity (business entity), a socio-political entity (chiefdom, tribe, family, etc.), or an informal one, its governance is the way the rules and actions are produced, sustained, and regulated. The word governance also refers to the activities of a government. In layman’s terms, it is the rules and laws made by the government that are sought to be implemented through a chosen bureaucracy. On the other hand Government refers to a body that comprises a person or a group of persons who run the administration of a country.

Governance is defined

Governance refers to all processes of governing, whether undertaken by a government, market or network, whether over a family, tribe, formal or informal organization or territory and whether through laws, norms, power or language.

According to the UNDP, (1997) in its policy paper, governance is defined as the exercise of

economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels. It

comprisesthe mechanisms, processesand institutions,throughwhichcitizensand groupsarticulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences.

The World Bank (1993) defined governance as the method through which power is exercised in

the management of a country’s political, economic and social resources for development. While

the World Bank has focused on stabilization and State reforms that overwhelmingly focused on

civil service retrenchment and privatization for a long period, the early 1990s saw a change of

focus. The Bank came torealize that most ofthe crises indeveloping countries are ofa governance

nature. Hence, the contemporary adjustment package emphasizes governance issues

such as transparency, accountability and judicial reform. In this context, the Bank has introduced a new way of looking at governance good governance.

According to Jon (2000), governance refers to sustaining coordination and coherence among a

wide variety of actors with different purposes and objectives. Such actors may include political actors and institutions, interest groups, civil society, non-governmental and transnational organizations. This definition illustrates that while the government of a traditional State has to cope with internal challenges and external challenges from the above actors, some of the functions previouslythe preserve ofgovernment maybe taken over some ofthe same parties. This definition gives credence to the assertion made earlier that governance is broader than government.

Pierre and Peter (2000) perceive governance as processes in which the State plays a leading role,

making priorities and defining objectives. This is in line with the notion of the role of the State as

that of steering society and the economy.

Hirst (2000) offers a more general definition of the term. He asserts that governance can be

generally defined as the means by which an activity or ensemble of activities is controlled or

directed, such that it delivers an acceptable range of outcomes according to some established

standard.

Canada’s Institute of Governance (2002) offers another general definition, asserting that

Governance is the processwherebysocieties or organizations make importantdecisions, determine

whom they involve and how they render account (UNESCO, 2006)

1.1 Good Governance

According to the World Bank, good governance entails sound public sector management

(efficiency, effectiveness and economy), accountability, exchange and free flow of information

 

 (transparency), and a legal framework for development (justice, respect for human rights and

liberties).

Good governance is defined by focusing on four major components namely legitimacy implying

that the government must have the consent of those who are governed (people); accountability

which means ensuring transparency, being answerable for actions and media freedom;

competence which refers to effective policymaking, implementation and service delivery; and

respect for law (rule of law) and protection of human rights.

According to Munshi, (2004) good governance signifies a participative manner of governing that

functions in a responsible, accountable and transparent manner based on the principles of

efficiency, legitimacy and consensus for the purpose of promoting the rights of individual citizens

and the public interest, thus indicating the exercise of political will for ensuring the material welfare of society and sustainable development with social justice.

Hirst (2000) provided a more precise definition of good governance that it means creating an

effective political framework conducive to private economic action: stable regimes, the rule of law, efficient State administration adapted to the roles that Governments can actually perform and a strong civil society independent of the State.

Every organization has unique needs and goals that will affect its approach to governance. No

single approach will fit the cultures or requirements of all organizations. For example, larger organizations will probably require more governance than smaller ones.

1.2 Bad and Good Governance

Recently the terms governance and good governance are being increasingly used in development

literature. It reached a point whereby all evils in societies are associated with bad governance

practices. Additionally, the so called development partners, donors and international financial

institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure

good governance are undertaken. Recently, these development supporters have retained their financial support to the government of Tanzania demanding stern actions against ESCROW scandal and culprits if any. This is a typical example of good and bad governance.

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Generally, Good governance ensures;

•    Participatory, transparency and accountability among other things •      Effectiveness and equity

•    Promotion of rule of law.

•    That political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society

•    That the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision making over the allocation of development resources.

It is therefore fair to summerize that sustainable development, social cohesion and environmental management are dependent on good governance and efficient public sector management.

For Bad/Weak governance system

•    Compromises the delivery of services and benefits to those who need them most

•    The influence of powerful interest groups biases policies, programs and spending away from the poor and lack of property rights,

•    Police protectionand legalservices disadvantages the poor and inhibits them from securing their homes and other assets and operating businesses.

•    Generates and reinforces and subverts efforts to reduce it,

Therefore, weak or bad governance is perceived to be a barrier to economic development to both domestic and foreign direct investment and this leads to the collapse of the nation state (UNDP, 1997)

1.3 Principles of Good Governance

Principle is conceptualized as a belief/basic belief or rule that has major influence on the way

something is done. It is also a rule/belief about what is right or wrong. The following are the

principles of good governance according to (UNDP, 1997)

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PARTICIPATION

This means that, all people have the voice in the process ofdecision making which affect their life.

Authority to Participate in decision making is either directly or indirectly done and it is build up

under the freedom of the association or freedom of speech. In schools, all education stakeholders

should participate in decision making and planning for school development. The stakeholders are local government authorities, civil society and civil society organizations, parents, Media and children (students) themselves. Generally, public involvement includes three elements or pillars such as Public access to information, Public participation in decision-making processes and Public access to judicial and administrative redress often termed access to justice. Access to information can be passive or active. Passive access is where the public will get information upon request to government institutions. Active access is whereby the government is obliged to give and disseminate information. Access to justice is whereby the procedural rights of the public to information are respected and guaranteed.

RULE OF LAW

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The schools system in Tanzania is made up by rules, laws and regulations in both national level

and school level. Rule of law means allpeople are equalbefore the law and no one should be above

the law to ensure that the principle of right equityand equality is practiced in schools. Rule of Law also means that Laws, regulations and codes of conduct should be fair and enforced impartially, particularly the laws on human rights. The national level laws that are applicable in schools are like appeal against examination results, internal and external examiners, and employment. At school level, there are students by laws, staff laws, power and duties of school administration and teachers

TRANSPARENCY

This is viewed as the free flow of information that will affect people’s rights and wellbeing. This

means that Processes, institutions and information are directly accessible to those concerned with

them, and enough information is provided to understand and monitor them. It promotes openness of government action, decision-making processes, and consultative processes among public sector and all stakeholders. The strategies to improve transparency in education institutions in Tanzania are through class meetings, school assembly, dormitory meetings and students’ school BARAZA. This will instill trust of leadership among students and teachers. Transparency is also achieved through media and hence the media should be free and accessible.

The following photograph identify a typical example of how transparency is supposed to be

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Source (Photo taken from one Primary School September, 2014)

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CONSENSUS ORIENTATION

Good governance mediatesdifferent interests toreach broad consensus onwhat is thebasic interest

of the group. Consensus implies two things which are the general agreements of the group and theory and practice on how to reach agreements. It usually involves collaboration rather than compromises in a sense that, instead of one opinion being adopted by a plurality, stakeholders are brought together until a convergent decision is developed. This practice is emphasized in schools through school meetings, board meetings, school baraza, school assembly and other areas where stakeholders can share the common issues and rich agreements

EQUITY

This refers to all people should have an opportunity to improve or maintain their well being. PEDP

and SEDP have achieved a great deal of equity in terms of enrolment of students to respective

levels of education. It has been supported by the tremendous process that has been taken in education sector like abolition of fees and other monetary contributions coupled with compulsory requirements that parents/guardians should send all children to school. Policy Forum, (2013) emphasize that equity must include the following

•    Delivery of services without discrimination of whatsoever. •      Conducting public affairs in a non discriminatory basis.

•    To value all people regardless of their differences

•    Equal opportunities to social groupings and public at large

•    Try as much as possible to make each individual feel part and parcel of the society

EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY

This means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs while making the best use of resources. On the one hand, efficiency refers to the process of producing good results by using available time, money, supplies etc i.e. maximization of profit or appropriate, timely and prudent utilization of available resources in achieving the desired results. Efficiency is determined by a number of factors such as attitude of personnel, availability of equipment (tools), financial resource, employees’ motivation, sound planning and supervision/control.

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On the other hand, effectiveness means producing the results that was intended i.e. timely

achievement of desired results as measured against set goals. Effectiveness is usually determined

by the SMART rule which means that the set goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound.

ACCOUNTABILITY

This means that decision makers in government, the private sector and civil society organizations are answerable to the public, as well as to institutional stakeholders. This accountability differs depending on the organization and whether the decision is internal or external to an organization. Inschools accountability is measured and influenced bytracking teachers and students attendance, conferences sessions to understand issues, coaching teachers, recognize and reward teachers who are performing their duties, Leverage community to create pressure and Strengthen accountability and enforce disciplinary measures.

Accountability may be categorized into four broad types:

•    It is associated with the idea of answerability, based on the premise that individual identity is determined by one’s position in a structured relationship

•    Liability, a second form of accountability, sees individual identity rooted in more-formalized expectations developed through rules, contracts, legislation and similar relationships based on legalistic standing;

•    It is associated with role-based expectations. Such roles foster blameworthiness as a basis for shaping and directing one’s behaviour;

•    Its expectations are derived from an individual’s perceived status in a community where attributions come into play.

The following is an example of accountability of school head by showing how money received

from RADAR were spent

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Source: A Photograph taken by the Author from one Primary School (Septemba, 2014)

Responsiveness

This means that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable

timeframe. Services delivery should not be delayed unnecessarily. In schools, responsiveness can be reflected through timely coverage of syllabus, timely attendance to classroom sessions, timely assessments and delivery of reports to parents. It also include timely honouring of teachers and other worker’s demands like salaries and all other benefits. Policy forum (2013) also insists that responsiveness must ensure the following

•    Caring for and listening to people’s problems and concerns •      Timely delivery of services in a quality condition

•    Ability to meet expectations of people.

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1.4 Key determinants of Good Governance

Good governance consists of the following six key factors according to (Policy Forum, 2013)

•    Democratic constitution – It must result from consensus of all people and groups in the

country i.e. both legally and legitimately accepted.

•    Security and observance of human rights – People’s welfare must be a central focus of any governance system

•    Separation of powers – There must be no contradictions or overlap of responsibilities betweenthe executive, Parliamentand Judiciarysinceeach arm has its own tasks according to their areas of jurisdictions.

•    Independent Judiciary – It is important that the Judiciary execute its functions without any external force i.e. should be free from interference

•    Freedom of speech – People should be allowed to air out their views without being threatened and undermined

•    Free mass media – This is considered a fourth arm of the state. It should therefore be free so that it can deliver information objectively and scientifically.

1.5 Consequences of Good Governance

Good governance leads to a number of positive consequences, including:

•    Trust of people towards organization or government

•    Establishment of direction i.e. knowing where one is heading

•    Enable the board to be connected to membership and stakeholders

•    Enable possibility of geting good decisions because people value work •      Enable the ability to weather crises in organizations

•    Financial stability

•    Sustainable development

•    Proper use of available resources

•    Reduction or absence of corruption

•    Reduction of conflicts and conflicts resolution in a peaceful manner •      Delivery of social services properly

•    Human rights are respected