The BEF was set up by the Government of Balochistan in 1994 for strengthening private sector provision of education and raising the standard of education in the province. In 1994-95 it was granted an endowment of US$ 2 million by USAID through the GoB, and has been using the returns on that endowment to fund a modest program of support to private sector educational institutions since then. It has gone through a major transformation during the last two years. The GoB recognized that with proper restructuring and strengthening, BEF could play a major role in promoting and supporting community, civil society and private sector initiatives in education. In view of this, the government, through an amendment to the BEF Act in 2004 , restructured the BEF and brought about significant reforms in its governance, management, and operating procedures.

Autonomous Governance Structure: The key reforms introduced in BEF’s governance structure are: (i) change in the composition of the Board of Directors (BOD) from a majority government to a majority private sector Board; (ii) barring any BOD members to hold political office, with the exception of the Governor who is the ex-officio Chairman; (iii) change in the composition of BOD, with members now representing diverse backgrounds, with regional and gender balance, and include civil society members from NGOs, academia, private sector educationists, and professionals; and (iv) establishment of an empowered Board with responsibilities for: setting policy, ensuring timely audit, approving funding proposals, providing support and guidance to management, and monitoring management performance.

The above changes were first incorporated through an amendment of the BEF Act in May 2004 by the provincial assembly which it changed the composition of BEF’s BOD from a majority government to a majority private sector Board. The new Board approved a new organizational structure, hired core staff from the private sector through a transparent process, and approved a new Operations Manual to guide the BEF’s work. It also proposed additional amendments to the BEF Act to give further powers to the Board to make changes to the BEF rules and regulations.

Management Structure: A new management and organizational structure has been approved by the Board, and the BEF is fully operational under this strucrure Key management and staff positions have been filled. The BEF is headed by a Managing Director with three Managers who form the core team at the BEF. These include Manager (Operations), who is mainly responsible for program policy, planning, appraisal of proposals according to agreed eligibility criteria; and program commitments; (b) Manager (Administration and Finance), who is responsible for financial management, disbursements, financial reporting, general administration, and human resource development; and (c) Manager (Monitoring and Evaluation), who is responsible for project monitoring, evaluation and research. In addition to these managers, the Managing Director is assisted by a Procurement Officer and an [Internal Audit Officer], who report directly to him/her. The managers will be supported by a unified team with relevant skills and experience including project officers, social organizers, accountants, research officers, field monitors, and computer operators. All BEF staff were and will continue to be hired on merit from the market, with hiring and firing powers ultimately vested in the BOD of the BEF.