ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: To meet the basic educational needs of the private educational institutions especially in the rural areas and urban slums, the government has developed an eligibility criterion for grant-in-aid scheme, said education minister Zobaida Jalal here on Thursday.

“The criterion has been developed in consultation with all the stakeholders, including teachers, students, parents, school owners, under which requests for grant by the private educational institutions would be considered,” the minister said.

The minister explained that all educational institutions like schools, NGOs, trusts and societies seeking grant had to register first with a demonstrated track record of at least two years of highly successful operation.

The institution, she added, must be running on non-profit/ non-commercial basis and must be awarding a scholarship to at least 25 per cent of the deserving students, while the schools up to the secondary level would be eligible for the financial assistance.

The minister said the preference would be given to schools in the rural or urban slums. She also emphasized that girl schools would be the top most priority of the government for the release of the grant.

The fee structure of the institutions seeking grant should not exceed Rs300 per month for the primary level and Rs500 for the secondary level, the minister explained, adding that preference would be given to schools imparting quality education.

Financial assistance could be used for basic furniture, educational equipment, educational material, provision of washrooms, water supply, boundary walls and the construction of additional classrooms, if the school was over-crowded, she said.

Ms Jalal said close cooperation and coordination with the private sector was imperative to eradicating illiteracy and ensuring 100 per cent enrolment of the children in the relevant age groups.

The minister also warned that no favouritism or nepotism would be entertained in the release of grants. The grant money was the trust of the people and a strict check was being kept on its release, she emphasized.

Successive governments had played ducks and drakes with the public money in the name of different grants, she said and assured that this time the system of awarding grants was more transparent and streamlined.