Non-salary allocations: Primary and elementary schools yet to get budget

Sums is supposed to be used for upkeep of schools and provision of missing facilities

RAWALPINDI: Primary and elementary government schools in the Rawalpindi district were yet to receive non-salary allocations approved by Punjab government for the ongoing year.

For the last two years or so, the provincial government has been providing non-salary recurrent allocations to schools in selected districts of the province as part of its efforts to improve education quality and overall performance.

The sum is supposed to be used for maintenance work, upkeep of schools and provision of missing facilities and learning material.

An official in district education department told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that high schools in the district have started receiving the allocated budget but the primary and elementary schools were yet to receive the sum.

The official said that the budget was being allocated because “Faroogh-e-Taleem Fund (FTF)” of every school was not sufficient to carry out maintenance work, pay utility bills and compensate for missing facilities.

Under the FTF, each public school is allowed to collect Rs20 from every student per month. The official, however, said that there were many schools that could not collect sufficient fund even to pay their monthly utility bills. Head teachers of various primary and elementary schools have long been pressing for the release of the non-salary budget.

The officials said that the district education office has fixed the non-salary budget according to the strength of students enrolled in every school. He said that each school is supposed to get a minimum Rs150, 000.

A head teacher of a primary school wishing anonymity said that the delay in the disbursement of the budget has created problems for many schools which even did not have basic facilities.

District Officer Elementary Schools Akram Zia claimed that the provincial government will soon release the non-salary budget.

Zia who is also acting executive district officer education, said that according to rules, each schools is supposed to open a non-salary account in any of scheduled banks. He said that almost all schools have opened accounts and the education department has verified it.

He said that the district accounts department will soon transfer funds to schools’ accounts and head teachers would utilise the budget in consultation with the school council.

Zia said that the budget would not lapse and schools would be able to utilise the funds next year along with the new budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2016.