The Effect of Budget Implementation on Education Service Delivery in Selected Public Universities in South Sudan

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of budget implementation on the delivery of educational services within selected public universities in South Sudan.. Methodology: This research was theoretically grounded in the New Public Management, Principal-Agent, and Resource-Based View frameworks. Employing a pragmatic research paradigm, the study utilized a convergent parallel mixed-methods design to gather insights from staff and policymakers at the University of Juba, the University of Bahr El-Ghazal, Upper Nile University, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Quantitative data were derived from 358 completed surveys from a distributed sample of 400, demonstrating strong internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.840 and 0.886. These data were further enriched by qualitative evidence from 21 key informant interviews and 3 focus group discussions. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression, while qualitative data were synthesized through thematic analysis. Findings: The analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between budget implementation and education service delivery, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.578 (p < 0.01). The simple linear regression model confirmed that budget implementation is a significant predictor of service delivery outcomes (beta = 0.578, R² = 0.334, F(1, 356) = 178.36, p < 0.001), necessitating the rejection of the null hypothesis. The qualitative phase of the study provided depth to these findings, identifying three recurring themes: the prevalence of chronic funding gaps and delayed disbursements; the persistence of weak internal controls and financial mismanagement; and the inequitable distribution of resources across university priorities. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This study contributes to the literature by identifying budget implementation as the most critical factor influencing financial management and service delivery within the public higher education sector. To address these challenges, the study recommends transitioning to more timely and predictable fund transfers to stabilize university operations. Practically, it is recommended that the government roll out an integrated financial management information system to enhance transparency and efficiency. Furthermore, from a policy perspective, the study advocates decentralizing expenditure authority to individual universities and establishing a protected funding window specifically for essential development and research activities.