Introduction
The BEF receives textbooks from Directorate of Schools, Quetta and further delivers the same to the concerned Community Schools (CS) through its District Supervisors (DS) before commencement of the academic year.
The Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF), in partnership with the Education Department, is committed to extending educational opportunities to the most remote and impoverished areas of Balochistan. With a particular emphasis on promoting girls’ education, BEF has successfully established 684 community schools across the province. These schools provide education to approximately 33,000 students and employ 1,032 teachers, playing a vital role in the educational landscape of Balochistan.
The School Education Department, Government of Balochistan (GoB), aligns its efforts with Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, which mandates that “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 16 years.” Furthermore, the Balochistan Compulsory Education Act, 2014, reinforces this commitment by stipulating the provision of free and compulsory education throughout the province. In accordance with these legal provisions, the GoB has been actively facilitating the education of communities in the most distant and underserved areas of Balochistan. Since 2009, it has provided essential support to BEF Community Schools through financial aid and the supply of free textbooks.
The process of supplying textbooks to these schools is a coordinated effort. BEF receives textbooks from the Directorate of Schools in Quetta and subsequently distributes them to the respective Community Schools via its District Supervisors (DS). This distribution is meticulously timed to ensure that textbooks are available before the commencement of the academic year, thereby enabling students to begin their studies without delay.
By fostering education in these remote areas, BEF, in collaboration with the GoB, is striving to uplift communities and bridge the educational gap, ensuring that every child, regardless of their geographic location, has access to quality education.
Request for Provision of Textbooks for 2024
To ensure the timely provision of textbooks for the upcoming academic year, the Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF) proactively submitted a formal request to the School Education Department, Government of Balochistan (GoB), in November 2023. The initial request, dated November 23, 2023 (Ref: BEF/MD/2023/1135-36), outlined the need for textbooks for Community Schools (CS) across the province. This request was followed by a second letter on January 26, 2024 (Ref: BEF/MD/24/1186), reinforcing the urgency and importance of the matter.
For the academic year 2024, BEF requested a total of 39,299 sets of textbooks, based on the current enrollment figures for Community Schools (CS). The detailed breakdown of the required textbooks is as follows:
| S# | Class | Current Enrollment | # of textbooks (set required |
| 1 | Kachi | 7872 | 7872 |
| 2 | Class One | 12687 | 12687 |
| 3 | Class Two | 7450 | 7450 |
| 4 | Class Three | 5024 | 5024 |
| 5 | Class Four | 3637 | 3637 |
| 6 | Class Five | 2629 | 2629 |
| Total Required | 39299 | 39299 |
It would be relevant to point out that the School Education Department initially distributes textbooks to the public schools and later the other departments are provided with the textbooks for their schools. The BEF requested School Education Department, GoB to provide these textbooks at the district level during textbooks distribution to public schools so that the BEF Community Schools (CS) get textbooks on time and learning of children in Community Schools (CS) is not compromised. This was endorsed by the Special Secretary, School Education Department, GoB and a directive was forwarded to the Directorate of Schools for the same; however, BEF’s request for provision of textbooks in the districts was not entertained.
Textbook Distribution Process
It is important to highlight that the School Education Department prioritizes the distribution of textbooks to public schools at the beginning of each academic year. Only after fulfilling the needs of public schools does the department allocate textbooks to other educational entities, including BEF Community Schools (CS). This sequential distribution often results in delays for BEF schools, affecting the timely availability of educational materials and thereby impacting the students’ learning experience.
To address these issues and prevent further delays, BEF formally requested the School Education Department, GoB, to provide the required textbooks at the district level, aligning with the distribution schedule for public schools. This would ensure that BEF Community Schools (CS) receive their textbooks concurrently with public schools, thereby safeguarding the learning continuity for students. The request was endorsed by the Special Secretary of the School Education Department, GoB, who issued a directive to the Directorate of Schools to facilitate this process. Despite the official endorsement and directive, BEF’s request for the provision of textbooks at the district level was not accommodated. This oversight necessitates further action to ensure the timely receipt of textbooks for BEF Community Schools.
Follow-up meeting for provision of textbook
Obtaining textbooks from the Directorate of Schools has proven to be a challenging task that demands persistent and aggressive follow-up with the relevant authorities. The Operations Section of the Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF) has maintained continuous coordination with the Directorate of Schools to secure the timely provision of textbooks for the upcoming academic year 2024.
Continuous coordination and follow up efforts
BEF’s Operations Section has been in constant communication with the Director of Schools to ensure that textbooks are delivered before the start of the academic year. During these interactions, officials from the Education Department indicated that the textbooks would be provided to BEF after they had been distributed to public schools. This sequential distribution is standard practice, often leading to delays in the receipt of textbooks for BEF Community Schools.
In an effort to expedite the process and minimize delays, BEF conducted a series of follow-up visits in March 2024. During these visits, discussions with officials at the Directorate of Schools revealed that the textbooks designated for BEF would be delivered once all titles had been printed and received by the Directorate. This process is necessary to ensure that a complete set of textbooks is available for distribution.
Receipt of Textbooks from Directorate of Schools, Quetta
In the last week of April 2024, the Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF) received textbooks for its Community Schools (CS) after several visits and persistent follow-ups with the Directorate of Schools and the School Education Department, Balochistan.
Selection of a Vendor for Transportation of Textbooks to Community Schools (CS)
Given the need to deliver textbooks to all the Community Schools (CS) across Balochistan, BEF had to hire a vendor for transportation. The transportation of textbooks was advertised in compliance with the Balochistan Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (BPPRA) rules. Following the due process, Ms. Usman [last name missing] was selected to ensure the timely transportation of textbooks to the Community Schools (CS). A comprehensive distribution and transportation plan was developed, and the vendor received thorough orientation, regular support, and facilitation throughout the process.
To ensure the timely distribution of textbooks, several meetings were held with the vendor. The vendor rented a warehouse, collected the textbooks from the Directorate of Schools, and organized them into district-wise packages based on the demands of the Community Schools (CS). A detailed work plan was established, informing all relevant parties about the distribution process. Each District Supervisor (DS) was assigned to collect textbooks from designated delivery points on specified dates and times.
BEF officials conducted regular follow-up visits to the warehouse to supervise and assist the vendor in packing the textbooks according to district and region-specific requirements. Continuous support was provided to manage the transportation of textbooks as per the agreed plan.
Creation of a WhatsApp Group:
To facilitate daily updates on the transportation of textbooks and to keep the management informed, the Operations section created a WhatsApp group. This group includes the vendor, the Procurement Officer (PO) from BEF, the Operations and M&E teams, and the District Supervisors (DS).
Daily progress reports on the distribution of textbooks, from Quetta to the relevant districts and subsequently to the Community Schools (CS), were required to be posted in the WhatsApp group. The necessary feedback and support was provided to the vendor and the District Supervisors (DS) throughout the distribution process.
District Supervisors (DS) were instructed to collect textbooks from a central point within their respective districts. They are then responsible for distributing these textbooks to the Community School Teachers (CST) based on the specific demands of each school
Distribution of Textbooks
The Balochistan Education Foundation (BEF) received textbooks from the Directorate of Schools in two phases: the first batch arrived on March 28, 2024, and the second on April 15, 2024. Following the receipt of the textbooks, BEF promptly began distribution to the Community Schools (CS), starting with district Pishin on April 21, 2024, and then continuing to the other districts as detailed in (Annex-I).
The distribution faced challenges due to heavy rains in some districts, which affected the transportation process. Despite these obstacles, the BEF team worked closely with relevant authorities to ensure that the textbooks were delivered in a timely manner. The District Supervisors (DS) and Community School Teachers (CST) played a crucial role in this effort. The CST collected the textbooks from designated points and then distributed them to the children at the Community Schools. This process involved transportation in trucks and the subsequent receipt and distribution by the DS and CST.
Issues and Challenges
- Receiving textbooks from the Directorate of Schools is a challenging task. Despite timely submission of the textbook request to the Directorate of Schools and the Education Department, GoB we encountered substantial delays at the end of Directorate of Schools. the concerned quarters in the Directorate of Schools were reluctant to provide textbooks to the BEF Community Schools (CS) due to absence of approval from the School Education Department. However, they were informed that the Community Schools are being supported by the GoB as per the agreement with the World Bank (WB) and the Government of Balochistan (GoB) where the GoB was required to finance these Community Schools after two years of their establishment.
- BEF needs to take up the matter with the concerned officials in the Directorate and the School Education Department;
- officials expressed concerns that the submitted documents did not meet the requirements for the provision of free textbooks. The funds for printing were only allocated for GoB schools.
- The late receipt of textbooks form Directorate of Schools adversely affects learning of children in the Community Schools (CS); therefore, it is imperative to take up the matter with Directorate of Schools and the School Education Department for timely provision of the textbook.
- The warehouse arranged by the vendor was at a farther distance affecting BEF regular visits for monitoring of the textbook activities. In future, the vendor be directed to hire a warehouse near BEF so that the concerned staff could easily visit the warehouse;
- The counting of books is also challenging due to the large quantity of books demanded. During the handover, the books were randomly checked and counted, which could result in discrepancies in packed bundles and potential shortages at the time of delivery. This issue was highlighted by the DS supervisor during the receiving process at the district level;
- Transportation of the textbooks to the hard to access areas is also an uphill task as majority of the BEF Community Schools (CS) are in far flung areas where mobility of heavy vehicles in the mountainous areas is a challenge and hinders timely delivery of the textbooks;
- In a number of districts, we were also encountered with law and order, wheel jam strike and shutter downs which adversely affected delivery of textbooks;
Issue and Challenges
- Delays and Reluctance:
Despite submitting the textbook request to the Directorate of Schools and the Education Department, Government of Balochistan (GoB), in a timely manner, BEF faced significant delays. The Directorate of Schools was hesitant to provide textbooks for the Community Schools (CS) due to a lack of approval from the School Education Department. The Directorate was informed that the Community Schools (CS) are supported by GoB under an agreement with the World Bank (WB) and GoB, which mandates GoB to finance these schools after two years of their establishment.
- Coordination with Officials:
BEF needs to address this issue with the relevant officials in the Directorate of Schools and the School Education Department to secure a timely supply of textbooks.
- Document Requirements:
Concerns were raised by the officials that the submitted documents did not meet the criteria for the provision of free textbooks, as funds for printing were only allocated for GoB schools.
- Impact on Learning.
The delayed receipt of textbooks from the Directorate of Schools negatively impacts the learning of children in the Community Schools (CS). It is crucial to advocate for the timely provision of textbooks with the Directorate and the School Education Department to avoid future delays.
Way Forward
- The timely provision of textbooks from the Education Department is essential for distribution to Community Schools (CS) before the start of each academic year. This enables Community School Teachers (CST) to follow the syllabus and complete the curriculum on schedule.
- Therefore, BEF requests that textbooks be provided at the district level concurrently with the distribution to public sector schools. This approach will not only address the issue of timely delivery of textbooks but also ensure that students can complete their coursework on time.
Bottom of Form
| S | District | DS Name | Date OF RECEIPT AT DISTRICT |
| 1 | Pishin | Ajab Khan | 21/04/2024 |
| 2 | Killa Abdullah/Chaman | Abdul Rasheed | 24/04/2024 |
| 3 | Noushki/Chaghi | Haji Rahim | 24/04/2024 |
| 4 | Mastung/Qalat/Sorab | Mohammad Qasim | 24/04/2024 |
| 5 | Khuzdar | Noor ul Hasan | 24/04/2024 |
| 6 | Khuzdar/Nall | Mohammad Aslam | 24/04/2024 |
| 7 | Lasbella | Mansoor Ahmed | 25/04/2024 |
| 8 | Panjgure | Baloch Khan | 25/04/2024 |
| 9 | Zhob | Abdullah Jan | 26/04/2024 |
| 10 | Bolan/Kachi | Khair Jan | 26/04/2024 |
| 11 | Awaran | Abdul Sattar | 26/04/2024 |
| 12 | Jhal Magsi | Altaf Hussain | 27/04/2024 |
| 13 | Killa Abdullah/Toba Achakzai | Naseebullah | 08/05/2024 |
| 14 | Ziarat | Faizullah | 08/05/2024 |
| 15 | Loarali | Bashir Ahmed | 11/05/2024 |
| 16 | Kharan | Gulbadin Hikmat yar | 11/05/2024 |
| 17 | Harnai | Shoukat Khan | 13/05/2024 |
| 18 | Killa Saifullah | Nasarudin | 25/05/2024 |
| 19 | Turbat/Kach/Gwadar | Nawaz Khan | 26-4-2024 & 28-4-2024 |
| 20 | Sibi/Mach | Ghous Baksh | 26-4-2024 & 29-4-2024 |
| 21 | Duki/Kohlu | Mohammad Yousaf | 7-5-2024 & 11-5-2024 |
| 22 | Musa Khail/Barkhan | Ubaidullah Shah | 8-5-2024 & 11-5-2024 |
The detailed textbooks distribution data sheet and copies of receiving by the DS are attached as Annex-II.
Attachments:
- Annex-I: Copies of Textbook Request Letters
- Annex-II: Detailed Textbooks Distribution Data Sheet and DS Receiving Copies