ABSTRACT
This study utilized the Phenomenological Qualitative Approach to explore and identify the challenges and issues faced by the school heads in the submission of the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) Liquidation Report. The qualitative data of this study were obtained from the five school head respondents through an in-depth face-to-face interview using a semi-structured questionnaire. The participants were purposively selected based on the inclusion criteria. The study aimed to assess the challenges and issues in the submission of the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) Liquidation Reports. The study revealed that the challenges and issues concerning the topic at hand included the arduous process of liquidation; unavailability of individuals-in-charge; remote location; liquidation as a perceived burden; and poor financial management. The findings of the study generally implicate that individuals-in-charge of the liquidation process see this task job as an additional burden, exhausting and time-consuming process. This is attributed to the fact that teachers, whose major role is to handle classes, are also assigned to the preparation and organization of liquidation documents. Some teachers are also tasked as a Bid and Awards Committee (BAC) who are demanded to attend meetings especially when the submission of liquidation reports is near, forcing them to sacrifice their teaching loads just so they can participate in the liquidation process which is a crucial aspect of replenishing the MOOE fund. The researcher proposed an action plan to address the identified issues and challenges encountered by the school heads in the submission of liquidation reports.
Keywords: MOOE, liquidation, school heads, issues, challenges, reports
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The Department of Education (DepEd) continually strives to further improve the quality of education in the country. One of the many reforms implemented is the provision of assistance that will cater to the improvement of the facilities and operations of educational institutions through the allocation of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).
MOOE refers to an expenditure category or expense class used to support the operations of government agencies such as expenses of supplies and materials; transportation and travel; utilities such as water, electricity etc. and the repairs (Department of Budget and Management, 2012, as cited in Gabotaf, 2020). This fund is a monthly school budget provided to public elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines which is intended for the payment of electricity, water and other basic services that would benefit the students. The DepEd Order no. 008 s. 2019 entitled, “The Revised Implementing Guidelines on the Direct Release, Use, Monitoring and Reporting of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses Allocations of Schools, including other funds managed by Schools” is the legal basis of this assistance and one which oversees the school administrations’ compliance (DepEd, 2019).
However, there are many challenges that hinder the optimized utilization of this fund. Ochada & Gempes (2018) believed that principals lack proper training to cope with the implementation and function of the school budget of their schools.
Another major problem is the delayed allocation of the budget stemming from delayed submission of liquidation reports. In addition, the study of Merano (2020) found that school heads in the Department of Education were not able to submit liquidation reports on time to the division office due to some irregularities and discrepancies in managing the school funds.
It is in consideration and based on the circumstances presented above that the researcher initiated to conduct a study on the issues and challenges faced by the school heads in the submission of MOOE liquidation report in the said division. With this objective in mind, the study aims to be able to propose a strategic output in order to address these challenges. The study is deemed to be a significant contributor to the existing literature and studies concerning this pedagogical aspect.
Statement of the Problem
This research paper seeks to explore the Challenges and Issues in the submission of the MOOE Liquidation Report, Specifically, the following core questions were answered:
1. What are the challenges faced by the participants in the submission of the MOOE Liquidation Report?
2. What are the issues faced by the participants in the submission of the MOOE Liquidation Report?
3. What Action Plan may be proposed in order to address the identified issues and challenges in the submission of the MOOE Liquidation Report?
Philosophical Underpinnings
This study is anchored on Stakeholder Theory by R. Edward Freeman (1984). This theory posits that an organization is only successful when it brings value to its stakeholders. That is if an employee, who is also a stakeholder in an organization or company, feels valued, then he becomes more productive and engaged. Therefore, stakeholder theory suggests that the real success of an organization lies in satisfying its stakeholders. In addition, as believed by Langrafe et al., (2020), the Stakeholder Theory also claims that the relationship between stakeholders and organizations is based on the principles of collaborative decision-making, information sharing, knowledge, building mutual trust, and strategic planning based on stakeholders' interests. All of these create more value for organizations. In education, stakeholders consist of students, parents, teachers, school administration and the community with students or learners as the main principal stakeholders as the success of the schools depend upon them (Hong, 2019). This theory is relevant to the present study as the current research focuses on the allocation and utilization of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) which is actually intended for the principal stakeholders which are students, thus, influencing the satisfaction of the learners. The satisfaction they need lies in the proper allocation and utilization of the MOOE budget. If the MOOE budget is outlined based on their needs, they will likely be satisfied and be involved in all aspects of school functions. The MOOE fund is provided in order to improve the learning experience of the principal stakeholders thus contributing to the overall satisfaction of other stakeholders such as the parents, teachers, community and of course, the success of the educational institution. As the present study aims to assess the issues and challenges concerning the submission of MOOE liquidation reports, this theory provides insights as to how this study’s objectives can provide a strategic action that will address said issues and challenges. This output is deemed to provide satisfaction to all school stakeholders.
Conceptual Framework
This framework will capture what the study intends to undertake to identify the issues and challenges faced by the participants in the submission of the MOOE liquidation report. The completion of this study will raise awareness of the participants on the importance of their role in the management of funds in the public schools of which they should exhibit effective and acceptable liquidating of funds practices, accomplish the necessary reports correctly and completely, and know what to prioritize in order to realize the objectives of the school.
The legal bases of this paper are presented on the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and DepEd Joint Circular No. 2004-1 entitled Guidelines on the Direct Release of Funds to DepEd - Regional Offices and Implementing Units, Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9155 (Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001) which provides that the appropriations intended for the regional and offices (elementary/secondary schools and schools division offices) are to be allocated directly and released immediately by the DBM to the said offices and DepEd Order No. No. 008, s. 2019 entitled the Revised Implementing Guidelines on the Direct Release, Use, Monitoring and Reporting of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) Allocations of Schools, including other funds managed by schools.
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