Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF)
The BEF was set up by the Government of Balochistan in 1994
for strengthening private sector provision of education and
raising the standard of education in the province. In 1994-95
it was granted an endowment of US$ 2 million by USAID through
the GoB, and has been using the returns on that endowment to
fund a modest program of support to private sector educational
institutions since then. It has gone through a major transformation
during the last two years. The GoB recognized that with proper
restructuring and strengthening, BEF could play a major role
in promoting and supporting community, civil society and private
sector initiatives in education. In view of this, the government,
through an amendment to the BEF Act in 2004 , restructured the
BEF and brought about significant reforms in its governance,
management, and operating procedures.
Autonomous Governance Structure: The key reforms introduced
in BEF’s governance structure are: (i) change in the composition
of the Board of Directors (BOD) from a majority government to
a majority private sector Board; (ii) barring any BOD members
to hold political office, with the exception of the Governor
who is the ex-officio Chairman; (iii) change in the composition
of BOD, with members now representing diverse backgrounds, with
regional and gender balance, and include civil society members
from NGOs, academia, private sector educationists, and professionals;
and (iv) establishment of an empowered Board with responsibilities
for: setting policy, ensuring timely audit, approving funding
proposals, providing support and guidance to management, and
monitoring management performance.
The above changes were first incorporated through an amendment
of the BEF Act in May 2004 by the provincial assembly which
it changed the composition of BEF’s BOD from a majority
government to a majority private sector Board. The new Board
approved a new organizational structure, hired core staff from
the private sector through a transparent process, and approved
a new Operations Manual to guide the BEF’s work. It also
proposed additional amendments to the BEF Act to give further
powers to the Board to make changes to the BEF rules and regulations.
Management Structure: A new management and organizational structure
has been approved by the Board, and the BEF is fully operational
under this strucrure Key management and staff positions have
been filled. The BEF is headed by a Managing Director with three
Managers who form the core team at the BEF. These include Manager
(Operations), who is mainly responsible for program policy,
planning, appraisal of proposals according to agreed eligibility
criteria; and program commitments; (b) Manager (Administration
and Finance), who is responsible for financial management, disbursements,
financial reporting, general administration, and human resource
development; and (c) Manager (Monitoring and Evaluation), who
is responsible for project monitoring, evaluation and research.
In addition to these managers, the Managing Director is assisted
by a Procurement Officer and an [Internal Audit Officer], who
report directly to him/her. The managers will be supported by
a unified team with relevant skills and experience including
project officers, social organizers, accountants, research officers,
field monitors, and computer operators. All BEF staff were and
will continue to be hired on merit from the market, with hiring
and firing powers ultimately vested in the BOD of the BEF. |