An assessment of the maintenance culture of government vehicles in senior high schools in the Akim-Oda Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to explore the challenges in maintaining Government Vehicles in Senior High Schools. Basically, the research examined the maintenance culture of Government Vehicles in Senior High Schools in the Akim –Oda Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region. A survey was conducted with a sample size of forty (40) mainly Headmasters, Assistant Headmasters and school drivers. The research design that was used in the study is a descriptive survey and document analysis. These were positively used to cater for the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Major findings are that maintenance of Government Vehicles in Senior High Schools is faced with numerous challenges ranging from Finance, Maintenance Management and Administration. Also the attitude of some school drivers towards maintenance is verypoor. Maintenance Policies and Plans exist in the schools but their implementation, monitoring and supervision is a problem due to financial constraint. It was identified that the schools do not have a formalised maintenance department to effectively over see maintenance activities. Finally, most of the schools have difficulties in taking their vehicles to companies that supplied them for servicing, coupled with high charges which deter school management from doing so. Instead they fall on road side mechanics that eventually compound their problems. It is therefore recommended that a formalised maintenance department should be setup in the schools to allow for the decentralisation of maintenance issues.