CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 
Paying of fee in school especially in tertiary institutions is an indispensable responsibility on students, parents, guardians, government or organizations offering scholarship grants. The fee charged is used in providing a conducive learning environment for the students. It enables the management in paying staff salaries, providing equipment and maintaining infrastructures in the school. At Caritas University Bursary department, the need for an efficient and automated student’s fee management system cannot be overemphasised. This is because it is a private University whose major source of funding is by fee payment from the students. As in every other legal transaction, receipts are then issued to the students which they must present before; taking exams, getting accommodation in the campus, submission of course forms, lab test and treatment, getting ID cards etc. Over the past few years, enrolment of students into the university has steadily increased with its attendant demand more on the clearance officer who personally and manually goes through all the students’ receipts and certifies than by issuing clearance cards before examinations. This manual processing system has caused loss of receipts and delay during the clearance period. In order to speed up this process and simplify this manual fee processing system, the development of an electronic database system is thus being proposed in this project work. 
This computer based management system has promising prospect for educational institutions in order to enhance the fee management system. The demand for a computer based fee management processing system in a large number of universities worldwide, is a growing necessity. The proposed system would store, route, display and issue receipt and cards electronically. This system not only enhances the university’s document management, It also allows decisions to be made faster and more efficiently.
Caritas University is a private university approved by the federal government of Nigeria on December 16 2004. It is situated in Enugu and was officially opened on January 21, 2005 by the then Minister of education Prof. Fabian Osuji. The 250 pioneer students matriculated on May 28, 2005 in a beautiful ceremony that attracted dignitaries both from church and State. It is the second catholic University in Nigeria founded by Rev Fr Prof Emmanuel Paul Mathew Edeh C.C.Sp OFR. The proprietor of the University is the sisters of Jesus the Saviour, a religious congregation founded by him. 
The vision of Caritas University is to rescue the wandering and teeming youths from further slide into academic and moral decay and transformation of the society through sound and unadulterated education. Its mission is to discover, sanctify and apply the knowledge of science, environmental and engineering for human well-being and sound development of man for better society. 
Caritas University’s goal is to give efficacy to the University motto and to its philosophy of education. The university embrace not only sound education for professional skills and competency in various fields, but also, maintains strict discipline. It trains the mind, body, soul and spirit in the exercise of obedience and self control. The students must not only be intellectually prepared, they must also be morally equipped to face the world itself with all its tensions, conflicts, challenges and upheavals. This is achieved with the help of God Almighty who is always with us.
The philosophy is to promote sound education for professional skills and competences in various fields with strict discipline. The University operates faculty system. The following faculties is run in the school; Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Management and Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. 
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are:
1. Eliminate heavy paper processing during exams
2. Provide a more efficient and simpler means of handling and updating students fee and other records
3. To provide a quick, accurate and timely query response system
4. To provide solutions to the problems of inaccuracy, alteration, delay, loss of receipts and irregularities in the manual system of clearance
5. Maintaining timely preparation of school fees receipts
6. Enable parents or guardians know if their children are truly paying fees
7. Reduce queuing up of students during exam clearance
8. Help management in decision making
9. Generate receipt and clearance card immediately after payment
10. To reduce stress and gain easy access to students record  
1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is basically on designing software or database that holds students school fees Status, Student’s Ledger book, generate receipt, generate clearance card and other records. The record or data in the database can thus be use in decision making especially during examination clearance.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is aimed at replacing the inefficient and time-wasting manual fees management system in Caritas University and clearance during examinations. Lectures are sometimes missed by the students who normally go for this clearance without which they will not sit for their exams. Thus this study is significant to eliminate these inefficiencies.
1.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The major constraints on this project work is time and finance.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS/VARIABLES
Fee: a charge made by an institution e.g. for membership, entrance, or the administration of an examination.
Receipt: this is a written statement that money or good has been received.
Clearance: permission to do something or for something to take place.
Automation: a system in which a workplace or process has been converted to one that replaces or minimises human labour with mechanical or electronic equipment.
Computerized: Convert based system to install or start using a computer system to organise, control, automates something
Database: Any collection of data organised for storage in a computer memory and designed for easy access by authorized for easy access by authorized users.
Password: this is a secret code that a user must type into a computer to enable him access its contents.
Manual: This is the use of hands to operate or control something.