Minutes of Meeting to Discuss TEP Budget 2016-2017 Approval – May 15, 2016
-Minutes prepared by Bhargavi Ramamurthy
Attendees: A. Shah, S. Mellacheruvu, V. Vadapalli, R. Kumanduri, B. Subramanian, B. Ramamurthy
The TEP Annual Budget for 2016-17 was received in March 2016. The Budget was for a total of INR 1,019,904, a reduction from INR 1,082,780 the previous year’s budget. There was no new line item and the reductions came from reduced salaries (38,000 INR per month from 41,000); expenses on games and sports material and uniforms; maintenance costs and mid-day meal costs. There were increases in provision for travel (from INR 15,000 last year to INR 25,000 in 2016-17) and refreshments (from INR 10,500 to INR 25,000).
Email and text communications with Joy TH, our point of contact for TEP, were initiated to understand the reasons for the specific reductions and increases noted above. These were discussed at a teleconference meeting on May 15, 2016 along with other comments and concerns that were raised regarding the project.
The reasons for reductions:
-Two senior teachers left and two new teachers were hired in their place, whose salaries were less than the senior teachers. That accounts for the reduced salary expenditure.
-Maintenance costs were reduced largely due to the construction of the ‘education shed’ in 2015, which brought down the costs of holding programs on TEP grounds.
-The number of students dropped from 510 to 493 and so the proportionate reduction in mid-day meal costs.
The reasons for increases:
-Due to law and order disturbances which frequently erupt in spontaneous bandhs preventing easy commuting between TEP school and Imphal, travel expenses to Imphal and back are higher due to forced stays in hotels until the bandh clears. Until now, these were being borne by the travelers and the school would like to absorb these in their budget.
-They decided to improve the quality of refreshments they serve at school functions, meetings etc. which accounts for the increased budget for this item in 2016-17.
No change was seen in line items for mid-day meals which remains at INR 7 per day per student. There were no reasons offered for reductions in game and sports equipment and for stationery costs, but the group felt that the increase for the latter was not unreasonable.
The absence of outlays for Asha awards was discussed. Joy had indicated in his communications that he was going to personally donate for the same and hence this line item was removed from the 2016-17 budget. However the group felt that Asha awards recognizing academic and extra-curricular progress was essential for keeping up the morale as well as incentivizing educational process through Asha. It was decided to approve the amount that was presented for the same in 2015-16 – INR 20,000. The attendees felt that Joy’s contribution could extend these awards – either for more students and/or more rewards per student.
It was unanimously agreed that the budget was reasonable and the answers received from Joy were satisfactory with respect to the line items and therefore the budget as presented (plus the 20,000 for Asha Awards) was approved unanimously at the teleconference.
Further Follow-Up:
On the Budget:
The following issues were also raised for the future, to be clarified with Joy:
-What is the status on school uniforms, will it be provided this year? It was not in the budget this year. If not, why?
-What are the possibilities for hiring a cook(s) for providing mid-day meals to the students so that the onus does not lie on Rose’s (Joy’s sister) physical presence at the school, without which there is no regular meals served. In addition to providing assured meals for the kids every day during the lean season, this also removes the pressure on Rose as well as provides employment for qualified candidates in the area.
-What infrastructural additions could be made this year to improve the educational experience at the school?
Site Visit:
The site visit to the school was also discussed. Our own volunteers Bhargavi and Arun’s detailed visit in 2014 helped us understand the school functioning, physical premises, the daily school routine, the environment in the locality, the strengths in the community, the challenges and the scope for improvement very well, along with fairly detailed interviews with parents, teachers and community members. Our chapter’s association with TEP has been for well over a decade and it has been one based on mutual trust and commitment to furthering education in the neighborhood of 13 villages surrounding TEP. Their school budget has been modest and reasonable and prompt communication and response by Joy and Rose have strengthened our belief that the school is working with the good faith and effort by the management, faculty as well as community. It was decided that no separate site visit was needed as Bhargavi had visited in the last quarter of 2014. However, we would plan for a site visit in 2016 – preferably by a volunteer visiting India or through others.
Annual Report:
The meeting attendees also agreed that an Annual Report tracking progress in the last year would also need to be compiled in consultation with Joy.
UPDATES on 5/17/16
Upon follow-up with Joy on the additional questions/comments mentioned above, we received the following budget additions from Joy:
UNIFORMS–Rs. 70/shirt, Rs. 120/pant or skirt, Rs. 150/sweater – total of $340 per student – TOTAL: Rs. 170,000 (340x500 students).
COOK – for regular mid-day meals for 4 months at Rs. 2000 per month – TOTAL Rs. 8,000
Votes for amending the budget and adding three new line items (Asha Awards, Uniforms, Cook) were procured via email. Seven volunteers responded (one on Whatsapp) with affirmative votes to add these line items and the revised budget of INR 1,217,904 was approved on May 17, 2016.
The Final Budget Amount Approved:
Originally submitted amount:Rs. 1,019,904
Asha Awards:Rs. 20,000
Uniforms:Rs. 170,000
Cook:Rs. 8,000
TOTAL APPROVED BUDGET 2016-17:Rs1,217,904
2015-2016 Budget (for comparison)Total 12 staff members for classes (Nursery to class VII). 12 staff members (Rs 41500/month) / 498000
Mid day meal for 4 months in a year (Rs. 7 per student perday, 26 working days a month, 4 months and 510 students = for 450 students x 26 x 4 months x Rs 7) / 371280
Travelling (for 3 trips to Assam for providing accounts to Asha Assam, attending Asha conference, twice a year for visiting ImphalUkhrul cities for purchases) for one session / 15,000
Games and sports material including sports uniforms for 1 year / 35000
Celebration (e.g. teacher's day, children's day, independence day, sports day etc) / 10,500
Computer maintenance (ink etc) / 8000
School repairs and maintenance & replacement - such as bench, desk, table, door, window, wall, black board, water pipeline, assembly ground, road, / 55000
Refreshment for all activities (e.g. teaching staff meetings, parent teacher meetings, function mentioned above) / 25,000
Stationary for 1 year (examination answer sheets, question papers, teachers copy books, duster, chalk, notepads) / 30000
Rewards and incentives(students and teachers) / 20000
Miscellaneous (telephone bill, first aid etc) / 15000
Total / 1082780
2016-2017
Total 12 staff members for classes (Nursery to class VII). 12 staff members (Rs 38000/month) / 456000
Mid day meal for 4 months in a year (Rs. 7 per student perday, 26 working days a month, 4 months and 493 students) / 358904
Travelling (to Assam for providing accounts to Asha Assam, for visiting ImphalUkhrul cities for purchases and banking work) / 25,000
Games and sports material including sports uniforms for 1 year / 30000
Refreshments for all activities, staff meetings, PTM, functions, childrens day, teachers day, independence day, sports day etc / 25,000
Computer maintenance (ink etc), maintenance of school walls, doors, windows road, toilets etc / 35000
Refreshment for all activities (e.g. teaching staff meetings, parent teacher meetings, function mentioned above) / 25,000
Stationary for 1 year (examination answer sheets, question papers, teachers copy books, duster, chalk, notepads) / 50000
Miscellaneous (telephone bill, first aid etc) / 15000
Total / 994904
AMENDED (ADDED on 5/17/16)
Uniforms / 170000
Asha Awards / 20,000
Cook / 8,000
TOTAL (Rs.) / 1,217,904