‘ITA working across Pakistan to improve education’

LAHORE: With reference to the story titled “Misappropriation unearthed in NGO funds in Sukkur” published on August 20th, the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aaghai (ITA) has clarified that this news is baseless and aimed at influencing the organization on its merit-based hiring of teachers, transparent award of work to eligible contractors and termination of non-performing employees.
This project is being implemented by the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aaghai (ITA) which is working since 2000. The ITA is working across Pakistan in close coordination with national, provincial, and district governments for the betterment of education including advocacy campaigns Right To Education (RTE), Child Rights, Teachers Training, Early Childhood Education (ECE), Early Childhood Development (ECD), Out Of School Children (OOSC), and missing facilities in government schools. The information regarding all programs and projects are available on our website www.itacec.org. The ITA has signed MoUs with provincial and district governments and is accountable to external auditors, internal auditors, grant auditors, government (district and provincial), Economic Affairs Department, Societies Registration Authorities, etc.
The ITA said it ensured compliance of all rules/laws/SOPs/agreements. “We awarded all work through public tenders and all these tenders are available on our website for reference as well. Moreover, compliance is ensured by internal auditor (AR & Co chartered accounts), external auditors Ernst and Young Accountants) and project based auditors. We have not received any observation of this nature by any auditor. We also kept district and provincial governments updated about progress of this project. Above all, we have displayed School Accountability Cards in each school which shows total financial support given to school for community audit.”
It is also clarified that project is over a period of three years and supporting 520 schools with 385,000 beneficiaries in the provinces of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab in Pakistan.