(Pb. Act XII
of 2004)
[8 June 2004]
An Act to provide for the restructuring of the
Preamble.– Whereas it is expedient to restructure the Punjab
Education Foundation for the promotion of education, specifically encouraging
and supporting the efforts of the private sector in providing education to the
poor and matters ancillary thereto;
It
is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and
commencement.– (1) This Act may be called the Punjab Education Foundation
Act, 2004.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Punjab.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.– In
this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context–
(a) “Act” means the Punjab Education Foundation
Act, 2004;
(b) “Board”
means the Board of Directors constituted under section 5;
(c) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the
Board elected under section 5;
(d) “Director” means the Director of the Board;
(e) “educational institution” means a primary,
middle, high, and higher secondary school, teacher training institution,
special education institution, and any other institution engaged in
education-related activities;
(f) “financial assistance” includes grants, loans,
scholarships, stipends, and rewards;
(g) “Foundation” means the Punjab Education
Foundation established under section 3;
(h) “Fund” means the Fund established under
section 10;
(i) “Government” means the Government of the
Punjab;
(j) “grant-in-aid” means monies that are
non-refundable;
(k) “loan” means a refundable sum of money with or
without mark up or service charge;
(l) “Managing Director” means the Managing
Director of the Foundation;
(m) “non-governmental organization (NGO)” means a
non-governmental organization registered as such under the laws of Pakistan;
(n) “prescribed”
means prescribed by rules made under this Act; and
(o) “quorum” means quorum of the meeting of the
Board specified in section 5(6).
3. Establishment of the
Foundation.– (1) There shall be established a Punjab Education Foundation.
(2) It shall be a body corporate having
perpetual succession and a common seal with power to hold and dispose of
moveable property and to acquire, hold, and sell immoveable property with the
approval of the Government and shall by the said name sue and be sued.
(3) The Head Office of the Foundation shall
be at Lahore.
4. Functions of the
Foundation.– The functions of the Foundation shall be to –
(i) provide financial assistance for the
establishment, expansion, improvement, and management of educational
institutions and allied projects;
(ii) provide incentives to students, teachers, and
Educational Institutions;
(iii) promote public-private partnerships relating
to education;
(iv) provide technical assistance to Educational
Institutions for testing policy interventions and innovative programmes for
replication;
(v) rank private educational institutions based on
educational standards;
(vi) raise funds through donations, grants,
contributions, subscriptions etc.;
(vii) assist Educational Institutions in capacity
building, including training of teachers; and
(viii) undertake any other function as may be
assigned to it by the Board with the approval of the Government.
5. Board of Directors.–
(1) The executive authority and managing of the Foundation shall vest in the
Board.
(2) The Board shall consist of fifteen
Directors including the Chairperson to be appointed by the Government in the
following manner, namely:-
(i) eight Directors including at least three women from the private
sector from amongst the NGOs, philanthropists, technocrats, and academicians;
(ii) Secretary to Government of the Punjab,
Finance Department, or his nominee not below the rank of Additional Secretary;
(iii) Secretary to Government of the Punjab,
Education Department, or his nominee not below the rank of Additional
Secretary;
(iv) Secretary to Government of the Punjab,
Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department, or his nominee not below
the rank of Additional Secretary;
(v) Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Social
Welfare Department, or his nominee not below the rank of Deputy Secretary;
(vi) Secretary to Government of the Punjab,
Planning and Development Department, or his nominee not below the rank of Chief
of Section;
(vii) Vice Chancellor of the University of
Education established by Government; and
(viii) Managing Director who shall also be the
Secretary of the Board.
(3) The Chairperson shall be elected by the
Board from amongst the non-official Directors for a period of three years.
(4) The Directors, other than ex-officio
Directors, shall hold office for a term of three years and shall be eligible
for re-appointment. The retiring Directors shall continue to perform their
functions till their successors are appointed.
(5) No non-official Directors, including the
Chairperson, shall be eligible to be appointed for a third term.
(6) Six Directors including at least three
Directors from private sector shall constitute the quorum.
(7) The Board meeting shall be presided over
by the Chairperson or, in his absence, by a Director duly nominated by the
Chairperson.
(8) The Board shall appoint the employees and
other functionaries of the Foundation and determine the terms and conditions of
their employment.
(9) No act or proceedings of the Board shall
be invalid merely on the ground of the existence of any vacancy or any defect
in the constitution of the Board.
(10) The
Board may delegate any of its powers to the Managing Director to enable him to
carry out its functions.
6. Managing Director.–
(1) The Board shall appoint a Managing Director who shall be the Chief
Executive of the Foundation.
(2) The Managing Director may exercise all
such powers and do all acts and things as authorized by the Board.
7. Filling in vacancy.–
Any vacancy caused due to the removal or permanent absence of a Director, other
than an ex-officio member, shall be filled in by a person nominated by the
Government and the person so nominated shall hold office for the unexpired
period of the term of his predecessor.
8. Resignation
of Director.– A Director, other
than an ex-officio Director, may at any time, resign his office by addressing a
letter to the Chairperson; provided that the resignation shall not take effect
until it has been accepted by the Government.
9. Removal
of Director.– Government may
remove a Director from the Board in such circumstances and in such manner as
may be prescribed.
10. Fund.– (1) There
shall be established a Fund which shall vest in the Foundation and to which
shall be credited–
(i) grants
made by the Federal, Provincial Governments and the local bodies;
(ii) income from investments made by the
Foundation;
(iii) donations,
endowments and subscriptions from organizations and individuals;
(iv) revolving
funds placed by the Government at the disposal of the Foundation;
(v) donations, endowments and grants from
international organizations, subject to approval of the Government; and
(vi) all other sums received by the Foundation
from any other source.
(2) The Fund shall be kept in such custody
and shall be utilized and regulated in such manner as may be determined by the
Board.
(3) The
accounts of the Foundation shall be maintained in such form and manner as may
be prescribed and shall be audited by an auditor, to be appointed by the
Government, being a person who is a Chartered Accountant within the meaning of
the Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 (Ordinance No. X of 1961).
(4) The Managing Director shall, at the close
of each financial year, submit to the Board the audited annual statement of
accounts of the Foundation, together with the report of the auditor.
(5) The Managing Director shall submit to the
Board at the end of each financial year a report of the activities of the
Foundation during that year.
11. Committees.– (1) The Board may constitute such financial,
technical, advisory and other committees as may be deemed necessary for
carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) The composition and functions of the
committees shall be such as the Board may determine.
12. Authentication of
decisions.– All decisions of the Board shall be authenticated by the
signatures of the Chairperson and the Managing Director.
13. Rules.– The
Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the purposes of
this Act.
14. Regulations.–
Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules framed thereunder, the
Board may, with the previous approval of the Government, make regulations as
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
15. Indemnity.– No suit,
prosecution or other proceedings shall lie against any officer or employee of
the Foundation or any other person exercising any power or performing any
function under this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder for
anything done in good faith.
16. Repeal and Savings.–
(1) On the commencement of this Act –
(i) the Punjab Education Foundation Act, 1991 (I
of 1991), shall stand repealed;
(ii) the Punjab Education Foundation established
under the Punjab Education Foundation Act, 1991 (I of 1991), shall stand
dissolved;
(iii) the assets and liabilities created under the
said repealed Act shall stand transferred to the Foundation; and
(iv) all rules made under the Punjab Education
Foundation Act, 1991, shall remain in force in so far as they are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act until the Rules are framed under this Act.
(2) Save
as otherwise specifically provided, nothing in this Act or any repeal effected
thereby shall affect or be deemed to affect anything done, action taken,
proceedings commenced, orders, rules, regulations, appointments, mortgages or
agreements made, directions given or instruments executed or issued, under or
in pursuance of any law repealed or amended by this Act and any such thing,
action, proceedings, orders, rules, regulations, appointments, mortgages,
agreements, directions or instruments shall, if in force at the commencement of
this Act and not inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act, continue
to be in force, and have effect as if it were respectively done, taken,
commenced, made, given, executed or issued under this Act.
[1][1]This Act was passed by the
Punjab Assembly on 26 May 2004; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 5
June 2004; and, was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 9
June 2004, pages 1455-1460.
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