Non-salary funds released, but too late?

Budget allows schools to make small-scale purchases, improve infrastructure

LAHORE: As the fiscal year 2017-18 comes to an end, the Punjab School Education Department (SED) has released the third and final installment of the non-salary budget (NSB) for schools worth Rs3.5 billion. However, the delayed release could mean that the fourth installment would not be delivered to the schools in the current fiscal year.

According to the budgetary allocation for the fiscal year 2017-18, the Punjab government had allocated Rs14 billion for the NSB. However, as the next and final budget of the Punjab government is expected in the first week of May, the last Rs3.5 billion installment of NSB will not be delivered to public schools on time.

So far, the SED has issued Rs10.5 billion in the three quarters as NSB funds to schools during the fiscal year 2017-18 out of a total earmarked Rs14 billion.

For the third installment, amount of Rs3.5 billion has been released to the District Education Authority’s (DEAs) Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Special Drawing Accounts (SDAs). The third quarterly installment has been released for primary, secondary, high and higher secondary schools for the 36 districts of the province. The sanctioned amount has been placed in the existing DEAs and District Education Officers (Secondary) SDAs.

The NSB fund is part of the Punjab government’s move to allow schools to make small-scale purchases, improve infrastructure and hire part-time staff. It is distributed based on a set formula that has been devised to pay the funds to all primary, elementary, high and higher secondary schools in each of districts.



According to the allocation for the third quarter, Attock received Rs71.66 million, Bahawalnagar Rs124.94 million, Bahawalpur Rs93.98 million, Bhakkar Rs73.15 million, Chakwal Rs56.82 million, Chiniot Rs53.27 million, Dera Ghazi Khan Rs100.05 million, Faisalabad Rs244.88 million, Gujranwala Rs122.71 million, Gujrat Rs95.97 million, Hafizabad Rs45.43 million, Jhang Rs105.95 million, Jehlum Rs46.87 million, Kasur Rs118.33 million, Khanewal Rs127.42 million, Khushab Rs50.92 million, Lahore Rs165.48 million, Layyah Rs86.33 million, Lodhran Rs51.05 million, Mandi Bahauddin Rs61.04 million, Mianwali Rs69.69 million, Multan Rs111.76 million, Muzaffargarh Rs112.25 million, Nankana Sahib Rs53.77 million, Narowal Rs77.23 million, Okara Rs118.11 million, Pakpattan Rs73.31 million, Rahim Yar Khan Rs159.52 million, Rajanpur Rs54.96 million, Rawalpindi Rs111.25 million, Sahiwal Rs101.01 million, Sargodha Rs139.4 million, Sheikhupura Rs95.1 million, Sialkot Rs118.91 million, Toba Tek Singh Rs100.61 million and Vehari Rs106.64 million.

SED Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik could not be reached after repeated attempts to comment on the delay of transfer of NSB.

These developments come on the coattails of Provincial Minister for Schools Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad maintaining that a historic education budget will be presented by the Punjab government for 2018-19 as well. He urged parents to make education a top priority for their children.

He added that around 0.5 million girls were enrolled in schools in 16 southern districts through Khadim-e-Punjab Cards. “These girls are being paid stipends as well,” the minister added.

“Other provinces are also following Punjab’s model and showed appreciation for our digital monitoring system.”

“In fact, Punjab is the only province which has been sending the best students from across the country to study at top universities around the world.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2018.