Recordkeeping for good governance in Tanzanian public universities.

Abstract

Recordkeeping is a key feature of any institution's corporate governance and is critical to its transparency and accountability. Public universities cannot operate without records because they provide the foundation for sound decision-making. Without records, it would be impossible to hold public universities accountable. Records in an institution help identify what has been done and how it was done. In other words, records serve as tools for creating trust through time and across societies. Therefore, an organization's lack of sound recordkeeping practices hinders good governance. Although recordkeeping is crucial, it is becoming a challenge in enhancing good governance in universities. The prevalence of poor recordkeeping practices in African universities raises doubts about how top management and administrators have been making informed decisions. There is a need to create awareness of the importance of recordkeeping in universities. University records should be properly maintained and secured. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in most African academic institutions, including Tanzania. Therefore, this study investigated the role of recordkeeping in promoting good governance in Tanzanian public universities. The overall objective of this study was to investigate recordkeeping for good governance in Tanzanian public universities. To achieve this objective, the present study sought to answer the following research questions: What systems and processes are used in recordkeeping in Tanzanian public universities? What recordkeeping skills and training do staff need in Tanzanian public universities? What is the role of records legislation in recordkeeping in Tanzanian public universities? What is the level of security and confidentiality control in recordkeeping in Tanzanian public universities? What interventions required to be put in place in order to address recordkeeping in Tanzania public universities? The population of this study was drawn from eight (8) Tanzanian public universities, namely Ardhi University, Mbeya University of Science and Technology, Moshi Cooperative University, Mzumbe University, Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, the Open University of Tanzania, Sokoine University of Agriculture and University of Dar es Salaam. Purposive sampling was used to select these eight public universities. The study targeted a population of 105. Given that the population of this study is considered small, the study used a census sampling technique where all members of the population were included in the study. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. Questionnaires were administered to 89 records officers. To get in-depth information, a purposive sampling method was employed thereafter to select respondents from the study population for them to be interviewed. Sixteen senior officials were targeted for interviews. The records continuum model and the Information Governance Reference Model underpinned the study. A pragmatic paradigm using Mixed Methods Research with a bias towards a quantitative dominant was adopted, complemented by a qualitative follow-up. The questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, while the interview schedule was used to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23, while qualitative data was analyzed using NVivo software version 11. The findings revealed that the level of digital recordkeeping in the surveyed public universities was below standard. The issue of funding for recordkeeping featured prominently; the budget allocated for recordkeeping activities was limited. This limited budget was prohibitive in managing records in all the universities. Recordkeeping activities such as records appraisal, storage, and access were found to be insufficient in all the universities. The study established that the university's recordkeeping laws still needed to be fully implemented. The present study also found that a shortage of recordkeeping space/storage was one of the challenges facing universities. The study findings revealed that universities faced numerous risk exposures concerning recordkeeping. They included pest infection, rodents, computer system failure, fire, unauthorized intrusion, water damage and theft. The study recommends that Tanzanian public universities follow the proposed framework steps when managing their records from creation. The proposed framework addresses the challenges elaborated in this study and, if appropriately implemented, will help Tanzanian public universities perform recordkeeping effectively.