The Citizens Foundation

The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is a non-profit organization, and one of the largest privately owned networks of low-cost formal schools in Pakistan. The foundation operates a network of 1,833 school units, educating 280,000 students through over 13,000 teachers and principals, and over 17,400 employees. Approximately 94% of the foundation's expenditure is allocated to the Education program. In addition, TCF also conducts a literacy and numeracy skill development program in communities linked to its schools which has taught reading and writing to over 160,000 adults.

The Citizens Foundation

Abbreviation	TCF
Established	1995
Type	Non-profit organization
Focus	Education, Economic independence, Women empowerment
Headquarters	Karachi, Pakistan
Location	Pakistan
Method	Donations and grants
President and CEO	Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad
Website	https://www.tcf.org.pk/

Introduction

The Citizens Foundation (TCF) was established in August 1995. It is a professionally managed charitable organization that builds and runs schools, providing primary and secondary education to boys and girls in rural areas and urban slums of Pakistan. As of March 2022, TCF has expanded its network to 1,833 operational school units, which provide education to 280,000 students. The Economist has called The Citizens Foundation (TCF) "perhaps the largest network of independently run schools in the world." The foundation is the largest private employer of women in Pakistan with an all-female faculty of 12,000 teachers and principals. 90% of TCF alumni pursue intermediate education, while 45% go on to complete tertiary education; 71% above the age of 22 are employed.

TCF maintains a balanced gender ratio; close to 50% of students are female because TCF exclusively hires female teachers. Each school hires support staff from within the community, who also help convince parents to send their children to school, especially girls.

Origin

Out of the population of 164,741,924 only 82,206,220 people are educated in Pakistan and 24% of the population are below the poverty line.

Like other developing countries of the world, Pakistan also faces the issues of population explosion, poverty, unemployment, income disparity and low literacy rate. In 1995, six successful top-level managers of Pakistan attempted to find a way to solve these problems, and the root cause identified by them was education. Within a few months The Citizens Foundation (TCF) was formed in Karachi.

Pakistan has the second highest number of out-of-school children in the world, after Nigeria, and it is the world's sixth largest country. To tackle this challenge, the founders of TCF wanted to leverage their experience building companies to build a network of 1,000 schools for the country's poorest, out-of-school children. The group put their own money into a pilot to build 5 schools in Karachi's worst slums that did not have electricity, sanitation, and clean water. With $30 million supporting 252,000 students today, TCF spends less than $12 (€10) per child per month. Less than 10% is spent on administration (curriculum, testing, staff engineers, etc.).

Education program

The Citizens Foundation provides primary and secondary level education, through which they are trying to bring about a qualitative and quantitative change in the education sector of Pakistan. The students at TCF schools are charged a nominal fee, out of which up to 95% scholarship is awarded along with uniforms and books on a pay-as-you-can-afford basis. This is judged on the basis of the overall household income of each family, its circumstances and education related expenses. Applicants for financial assistance provide necessary details about their family income and resources by completing a scholarship form. TCF school staff, through visits to the applicants' homes, verify this information. School principals then send completed scholarship forms, along with their recommendations to the Regional Office where the final decision is taken. Scholarships are given for one academic year and the recipients are eligible to reapply. Students who are eligible get uniforms and textbooks free of cost.

Infrastructure

TCF operates a network of 722 vans that provide transportation to its faculty in order to facilitate quality staffing in remote areas. Schools are located across Pakistan.

TCF school locations

Sindh	Punjab	Khyber Paktoonkhwa	Balochistan	AJK
953	780	87	87	14

Teacher training

In order to provide quality education to the students a Teacher Training Center was made in 1997, in Karachi. Every new teacher hired goes through four-weeks of extensive pre-service training before being permitted to teach at a TCF school. The training center closely evaluate the teachers during the year and provide training sessions from time to time as per requirement of the curriculum. The program components are:

1. Pre-Service Training: Prepares the new hires before they are placed in schools.
2. In-Service Training: Ensures continual professional learning and quality teaching.
3. Principal's Academy: Helps guide the Principals to become effective school leaders.
4. Training of Trainers: Executed through Master Trainers helps to develop new trainers within the TCF school network.

Quality assurance

TCF has a dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) team to oversee the quality of the Education Program with the objective of maintaining an education standard in all the TCF School units. Visits are conducted throughout the year to monitor each school's educational activities, formal classroom observations are carried out and insights are collected from Principals, teachers and students to come up with a focused and dedicated school improvement plan. The QA team also conducts centralized examinations.

Community development

In addition to the Education program, TCF also operates some community development programs through the school premises.

Aagahi adult literacy program

Aagahi, TCF's adult literacy program was launched in 2005 as a community development initiative and teaches literacy skills such as reading, writing, and basic math to women from rural areas and urban slums in areas around TCF Schools. In 2017, Aagahi was awarded the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy. In Urdu, the word Aagahi stands for "awareness".

Vocational training

Training Centers are established inside TCF school premises where trained teachers impart 6-month specialized training in two specific trades which includes Beauty-Cosmetology and Cutting-Sewing-Embroidery. Participants are taught skills to launch their own small businesses, with the objective of supporting families to lift themselves out of poverty and facilitate sustainable community impact.

Water filtration

In communities where access to clean water is an issue, TCF opens community-scale filtered water depots. One outlet provides clean water to the children attending school while the other is used by the community around the school.

Government Schools Program

In 2016, TCF's Strategic Development Unit (SDU) initiated the Government Schools Program, under which TCF took over operations at 274 adopted government schools. 256 of these schools are in Punjab, 8 in Sindh and 5 in KPK and 5 in Baluchistan. As a result of work on improving conditions at these schools, student enrollment increased from an average of 47 to 101 students per school. In 2017, students from TCF-operated government schools received an average of 72.6% marks in the 5th grade board exam.

Earthquake relief operations

On October 8, 2005, Pakistan witnessed one of the worst natural disasters in its history, the earthquake in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and areas of NWFP. TCF provided earthquake victims with food, blankets and tents. Medical camps were set with adequate operation theatres. Rehabilitation process was started in which first 6,300 shelters were built to help over 60,000 victims survive the harsh winters. Then a layout was made to make permanent houses and Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) approved the design of the house.

TCF also developed a water supply scheme in most villages to provide easy access to water for the people. Previously many people had to walk to the neighboring village to get water in buckets or pots. In the earthquake-affected areas the whole infrastructure was destroyed, many schools collapsed killing thousands of teachers and children. 21 schools will be built by TCF to help affected children.

COVID-19 Response Appeal

In the wake of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TCF began a fund whereby 20% of Sadqah, Zakat, or general donations were allocated to providing cash-based relief to families struggling communities around its schools across Pakistan. The fund was also used to provide donations of PPE to frontline healthcare professionals. TCF alumni and teachers played a role in identifying families who were most affected by lockdowns.

Distance Learning and Support Program

To ensure continuity of learning for millions of children who were forced to stay out of school due to lockdowns, TCF developed a TV-based edutainment program named "Ilm Ka Aangan" (The Learning Courtyard), in collaboration with Pakistan Television’s Tele-school and the Federal Ministry of Education. Workbooks in the form of a print magazine were also published and distributed among primary and secondary students who would otherwise have no access to online learning due to limited broadband penetration and lack of smart devices in less privileged communities. These publications were edited by Salim Mughal, former editor of Hamdard Naunehal.

Allocation of donations

Being a charitable organisation the sole source of income is donations. They receive nearly 80% of the funds from Pakistanis at home, which include corporate sponsorship and individuals. The rest of the donations are received from expatriate communities. More than 90% of the funds are utilized in the building and running of schools, providing equipment for libraries and science laboratories, children's uniforms, books and snacks. The remaining are allocated for administration costs.

TCF's accounts are audited by KPMG and available to the public. As of 2018, TCF is assigned a non-profit organization (NPO) governance rating of GR-9+ by JCR-VIS Credit Rating Co Ltd, denoting a high level of governance in TCF.

Treatment of Zakat

TCF has a Shariah scholar on its advisory board to ensure utilization of zakat funds is as per Shariah standards. Accounting for Zakat funds is separate from donation funds. Zakat is only used in operational support funds which are utilized within a year. We do not use Zakat funds on capital expenditures or endowment funds. To ensure children are deserving of Zakat funds, parents take an undertaking confirming they are eligible for Zakat.

International presence

TCF is supported by a global network of Chapters

• The Citizens Foundation, USA: a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization (recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service) and a 4-star Charity Navigator rating
• The Citizens Foundation (UK): Registered with the UK Charity Commission
• The Citizens Foundation, Canada: Registered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a Charity
• TCF Educating Children Australia, Inc: registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission ACNC

Awards and recognition

TCF has won a number of awards including MAP, and ICAP, South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) for the best presented annual report.

2017 - UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy

2016 - Top 10 finalists for the OECD DAC prize

2015 - Schwab's Social Entrepreneur of the Year

2014 - Ramon Magsaysay Award, informally thought to be the “Nobel Prize for Asia”

2013 - Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurs

2011 - Clinton Global Initiative

2010 - World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Award by the Qatar Foundation

External links

• The Citizens Foundation Pakistan
• The Citizens Foundation Canada
• The Citizens Foundation UK
• The Citizens Foundation USA
• TCF Educating Children Australia, Inc