June 17, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 12, 1429

KARACHI, June 16: The board of governors of the Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi, on Monday approved a budget of Rs452.5 million for the financial year 2008-09.

According to the budget documents, the BIEK has allocated Rs399 million under the head of its expenditures as against its income of Rs452.5 million for the next financial year, thus indicating a surplus of Rs53.4 million.

Though the size of the BIEK’s budget for the forthcoming fiscal has been termed the biggest-ever in its history, no increase has been introduced in any fee pertaining to the examination, enrolment, registration and marks sheets.

Highlighting the salient features of the budget, the BIEK chairman, Prof Anwar Ahmed Zai, said that though the government had announced a 20 per cent increase in the basic pay of government employees, the salaries of the Board’s employees had been increased by almost 40 per cent because with the increase in their basic pay, the amount of other allowances and perks would also increase.

He said that a number of allowances for the Board’s employees in the next financial year had been substantially increased and as such the conveyance allowance of its grade 1 to 16 employees had been enhanced by Rs300; utility allowance for its grade 1 to 20 employees by Rs300; educational allowance for each category by Rs500; medical allowance by Rs400; diagnostic charges allowed to grade 1 to 15 employees had been increased from one basic pay to 1 ½ basic pay; maternity charges from the existing Rs1,800 to Rs2,500, entertainment allowance by Rs500; special pay for the employees of grade 16 and above had been raised from the existing Rs550 to Rs600, while the number of scholarships awarded to the wards of its employees had also been increased from 10 to 15.

Apart from this, the board in its next year’s budget has also increased the rate of emoluments of examiners, paper-setters, invigilators, etc, by 20 per cent.

When asked as to how the board being a self-finance generating institution would be able to meet the additional expenses that it would have to incur in the wake of the enhanced salaries and allowances, Prof Zai said that as soon as he assumed the charge of the BIEK’s chairman, he switched over the Board’s account from current to savings account and as such interest amount which the BIEK got soared to Rs12.5 million.