EVS was established in 2006 and the major functions of EVS were to provide educational facilities to the poor children residing in the poverty ridden slum areas. The modus operandi adopted for this scheme was the voucher or coupon which was given to children of poor families after registering those families in EVS database. These coupons could be used by these children for getting free education in designated schools. As a starting point, the slum areas of Lahore were picked up. In these areas, campuses were setup, where after announcement, the children were gathered. Gradually, starting from Lahore, the network of such designated schools was widened and now includes all 36 districts of Punjab.

Voucher Cards are en-cashed by the partner schools in lieu of monthly fee of the voucher students as following:

• Rs 550/- per student for Primary classes
• Rs 600/- Per student for Elementary classes
• Rs 900/- Per student for Secondary Arts classes
• Rs 1100/- Per student for Secondary Science students

Voucher Card is issued after registration of eligible NADRA Verified students through the following:

1. Through taking nominations from EVS partner schools
2. Identification of eligible students through household survey by PEF Teams
3. Through out-sourcing of household survey by third party

These vouchers are en-cashed by the partner schools in lieu of monthly fee of the voucher students.

No

No, it is valid for EVS Partner Schools only.

Yes

Schools are selected in a transparent manner through the following steps:

1. Advertisement in national dailies for inviting applications from eligible running private schools (at least 06 months of establishment) on the basis of criteria approved by PEF Board of Directors
2. Short listing of applications on the basis of advertised criteria
3. Physical verification (visit of schools)
4. Final selection

No

No

One voucher is valid for only one student.

No. Fee cannot be charged from Voucher Card holder students in whatsoever form, including fines, recreational activities, stationery, photocopy, class tours, admission charges, school leaving certificate fee, registration fees, selling of model papers etc. However, School’s Parent Teacher Council to be made and in case of field/ recreational/ trips/ activities to be performed with consent of parents.

Vouchers are distributed by PEF to parents/guardians and they can submit vouchers to EVS Partner schools of their choice and partner schools claim payment of these students from PEF after submission of monthly updates.

No

Voucher can be used in any EVS partner school.

QAT is Quality Assurance Test conducted by PEF in its Partner Schools to assess the quality of education imparted by school to students.

It is conducted once in a year.

50% students must get 40% marks in all subjects

If a school fails in two consecutive QATs, it has a chance to clear QAT in 3rd attempt, however monthly payment is reduced to 50%. If the same school fails in third consecutive QAT, its partnership with PEF is cancelled.

No

PEF has established a centralized complaint cell for redressal of complaints against partner schools. Such complaints can be launched through:

• A written application to PEF.
• By making a telephone call on the following phone number: Centralized Complaint Cell Phone # 042-99230127,042-99230113 (numbers to confirm from CCC).

No. Partner School hires teachers on its own. Partner School is responsible for timely disbursement of salaries to the teachers. PEF pays financial assistance to Partner Schools which supports all expense of school.

PEF exercises a zero tolerance policy against corporal punishment. As per SOPs penalty is imposed on the school where corporal punishment is reported. Repeated observation of corporal punishment can lead to cancellation of partnership as well.

Payment is made on monthly basis into bank accounts of Partner Schools.

Yes, Punjab text books are provided by PEF free of cost.

Policies are conveyed to Partner Schools through circulars on PEF official website, SMS messages and other social media sources (twitter, Facebook).

Performance Evaluation of EVS Partner Schools is carried out on Annual basis based on the following indicators:

1. QAT results percentage
2. PEC/BISE results percentage
3. Monitoring results percentage
4. Teachers Qualification percentage
5. Complaints results percentage
6. Retention percentage
7. Physical infrastructure

Partner Schools are also categorized in A+, A, B, C, D categories based on this performance evaluation.

The Punjab Education Foundation carries out monthly monitoring of its Partner Schools for Physical verification of students studying in schools. However, detailed monitoring to check school infrastructure, school record etc. is carried out twice in an Academic Session.

An unregistered school may apply for partnership, as per advertised terms & conditions. However after entering into partnership, school shall register itself with the District Education Authority within prescribed time as approved by PEF-BOD. In case of non-registration within given timelines, school may be penalized and/or its partnership may be cancelled.

A PEF board is displayed outside all EVS Partner Schools on its main gate and/ or any other prominent places.

Student Information System (SIS) is web-based application software designed to collect and store a structured information for integrating students, parents, teachers and the administration of EVS schools. SIS logins are issued to all Partner Schools and they are responsible to update the Students, School and Teachers Profile in SIS. The following is achieved through SIS:

• Maintenance and reporting of student’s data as per school record
• Maintained school teacher’s data
• Handling complaints from prospective schools
• Handling the admissions process
• Enrolling new students
• Handling records of PEC and BISE examinations
• Providing statistical reports

The partner school shall not conduct/ carry out after school classes within its premises. Any academic or non-academic activity for profit making shall not be carried out once the school comes into partnership with the PEF.

The teacher student ratio should not exceed 30 students per teacher.

The student-drinking point ratio should not exceed from 70 students per point. Similarly, same ratio will be observed for toilet facility. There should be separate toilets for teachers/staff/principal which will not be considered while calculating ratio.

Policy Cap of EVS Partner Schools starts from 500 for primary level, 750 for Middle level, 1000 for Secondary level and 1250 for Higher Secondary level. However, additional vouchers are allowed to schools on the basis of Annual Categorization of EVS Partner Schools.

Enrolment is verified through monthly monitoring of EVS Schools. Further, all students are verified from NADRA against their B. Forms. However, in case any misreporting or negligence on part of Partner School is reported, then strict action is taken against the schools on case to case basis including imposition of financial penalties or cancellation of Partnership agreement, as per SOPs.

If more than 35 students are sitting in a classroom then it is considered as overcrowding.

A classroom that carries students more than its capacity is called a congested classroom.

PEF partner schools are allowed to have maximum of two campuses. However in the event of extreme need, 3rd campus may be allowed as special case. The maximum distance between the campuses should not be more than 500 meters for rented buildings and 1 kilometer for owned building.

PEF schools are allowed to run canteen in their premises; subject to the following terms and conditions:

• Only stationery items i.e. lead pencils, sharpener, eraser, ball pen, rulers can be sold.
• Eatables i.e. snack of any kind, fast food etc. can be sold. Compliance to instructions/ guidelines of Punjab Food Authority must be ensured.
• Books, uniform, badges etc. cannot be sold in canteen.
• Canteen can’t be used for profit making in shape of rent.

Yes. The following forums are available for submitting appeals against Management decisions:

• Review Committee
• Appellate Committee

School will submit written application on school letterhead mentioning reason for not agreeing to PEF decision along with evidence, if available. Also, it is the responsibility of school owner to attach the prescribed processing fee as per SOPs.

All complaints related to SIS should be submitted online in the SIS Complaint Box for immediate redressal.