1. Who are the people behind TCF?
The Citizens Foundation is a public company limited by guarantee. To find out about the board of directors please refer to our website section ‘TCF Profile – The People‘
2. What percentage of the money that is collected by TCF, goes to the actual running of the schools?
TCF receives capital and non-capital donations. Capital donations are for constructing and equipping new schools. As such, these funds are used exclusively for that purpose. Non – capital contributions fall into two
categories: zakat and non-zakat funds. 

Zakat funds are used to support the education of deserving children. Non-zakat funds are spent on providing all education-related services and facilities to the schools.

92% of all funding TCF receives is spent on School projects. On the average, the annual administrative expenditure of TCF is 8% – 9% of total donations received. TCF strives to maintain financial transparency, for a closer look please take a look at our Financials.
3. From where does TCF receive its funds?

Presently TCF receives its funds from various organizations and thousands of individuals based in Pakistan and abroad.
4. Do the directors derive any monetary benefit from the Foundation?
According to the Memorandum and Articles of Association, directors of The Citizens Foundation can not and do not derive any monetary benefit from the Foundation. On the contrary, the directors invest a lot of their
time and resources in managing TCF free of any charge and obligation.
It’s pertinent to mention here that the directors are the guiding lights of TCF and entirely committed to leading from the front. 

After funding the entire construction and establishment of the first five schools, the directors have continued to make significant regular financial contributions to TCF.
5.
Do all expenses related to traveling, holding of dinners to promote/propagate TCF’s cause come from donations?
No.
All such expenses are borne personally by the directors for the most part. Some of the expenses are debited to the proceeds of the event.
6.
How long will the schools run on charity/donations? Is there a self-sustaining system?
TCF operates in the most destitute areas in order to provide their residents an opportunity to better their lot through quality education.
As a consequence of this conscious and essential choice, TCF has accepted the responsibility to support these schools till these areas achieve the requisite level of economic well-being. TCF is, however, simultaneously establishing an endowment fund which when fully in place will meet a part of its annual running expenses.
7. Are there any educationists on the board or committee?
Yes.
TCF has a number of education & training specialists at various management levels – not to mention TCF’s own experience of close to 10 years in providing education.
8. On what basis is the curriculum designed?
TCF Schools follow a relevant and comprehensive curriculum, which is in line with the officially prescribed syllabus by the board of their respective region. However, this syllabus is suitably modified and regularly updated to meet the demands of modern-day education.
Furthermore, activities such as debates, essay writing, art, naat and qirat competitions along with sports help to develop TCF’s students holistically.
9. What is the method of procuring textbooks?
Textbooks are purchased centrally by TCF and supplied to the students at their purchase/discounted prices. Parents have the option to pay for the textbooks in installments. The more expensive textbooks have been
purchased by TCF and kept in class lending libraries.
10. What are the long-term plans of the organization? How will schools help alleviate poverty?
As of April 2011, TCF has over 738 school units spread over 68 locations. 

To know about TCF’s ideology & priorities please click here.
11. On what basis are the teachers selected/hired?
a. Who selects them, what is the system?
b. Are they trained, what is the system?
c. Are they paid, how much?
d. What is the accepted level of qualification?
a.
Teachers are selected strictly on merit. All posts are advertised in newspapers. Applications are vetted against announced criteria. All acceptable candidates are invited through individual letters for interview. The interview is conducted by a panel.  Selected candidates are then issued formal appointment letters. 

b.
All selected teachers, regardless of their academic or teaching qualifications and experience are given extensive initial training at TCF’s Teacher Training Centre in Karachi or by our master trainers in other locations for a period of four weeks (approx: 110-120 hrs.). All in-service teachers are given annual developmental training to update their knowledge and equip them with latest teaching skills.

c.
All employees of TCF, including  teachers, are paid regular salaries. The salary of a teacher is fixed on the basis of her academic and teaching qualifications, teaching experience, and potential. In addition to their salaries, the teachers get paid holidays, pick and drop facilities, and their children receive special fee concessions.

d.
The acceptable level of qualification has been established on the basis of the classes that selected teachers are likely to be assigned. At the primary level, the minimum qualification is matriculation whereas at
the secondary level, it is graduation. All principals and English language teachers must also be graduates. Please note that these are minimum qualifications. However, TCF has many teachers with master’s
degrees teaching at the primary level.
12. How can we be of help to the cause?
There
are numerous ways supporters may help TCF’s Education Program. We can only suggest a few, but you may be able to find many more ways to help. You can personally contribute or raise funds for TCF’s Education Program, collect books for school libraries, discuss the possibility of participation in teacher training or formally join our support groups in Pakistan, USA, Canada, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and help out in our fundraisers. Your spreading awareness about TCF is also your contribution to the cause.
13. Who bears the expenses of the secretariat, that is, the staff?
Expenses of Head office and the Regional/Area Offices are borne by TCF. Some directors assist financially or in kind to reduce administrative expenses.
14.
How can you ensure that your system is being implemented as planned?
The Citizens Foundation has evolved an effective system to monitor and evaluate its programme activities. This system is fine-tuned regularly to ensure its efficacy and relevance.Each school and its faculty is evaluated by a team of evaluators. All aspects of the school including its administration and performance of its faculty are evaluated on the basis of set criteria. This performance evaluation helps us in upgrading our systems, career planning of our academic staff and designing the annual refresher training for our faculty. The quest for excellence is an incessant process at TCF.
15.
What are the criteria of awarding scholarships and who provides the books and uniforms?
Scholarships
are awarded on the basis of need. Need is judged by calculating the
overall household income of each family and its education related
expenses with the objective of making education affordable for every
student. All applicants for financial assistance fill in a printed form
providing all necessary details about their family and resources. The
school staff  then, through visits to the applicants’ homes,
verifies this information.  Finally TCF principals send the
completed scholarship forms, along with their recommendations to their
respective Regional Offices where the final decision is taken. 

Scholarships
are given for one academic year and the recipients are eligible to
reapply. Deserving students get uniforms and textbooks free of cost.
Others are provided the facility of purchasing uniforms and textbooks
on easy installments. This facility is offered to reduce the financial
burden on parents at the beginning of the academic year, a time when
they have to buy uniforms and textbooks for all their school-going
children.
16.
Are there any tests for admission, at entry level, and from class one onwards?
In
order to promote education en masse, it is imperative that admission is
given to all children. Consequently, there are no tests at the entry
level. From class one onwards, there are tests to determine the class
in which a child can be given admission.
17. What is the drop-out rate?
Less than 1%. Only those children whose parents move to another town or locality withdraw their children from TCF schools
18. Are there parent-teacher association meetings in your schools?
Teachers
and parents hold meetings every quarter, which are recorded
meticulously. The objective of these meetings is communication with
parents who are generally illiterate. Teachers seek to reassure them
about the activities of the school, and request their help in providing
better education to their children. Parents, nevertheless, have no
formal role in the management of TCF schools.
19. What are the extra-curricular activities?
The
students of TCF schools go on regular field trips, participate in art
and other competitions, and hold functions on important national days.
20.
Is your programme restricted to urban areas or will you extend it to rural areas too?
TCF has schools in rural areas and urban slums of Pakistan. Most TCF schools in the Punjab are in villages.
21. Is there any resistance from local residents/parents?
None
at all. On the contrary, local residents and parents everywhere have
been extremely helpful and co-operative. In the Punjab, individuals or
group of local residents have even donated plots for building schools.
22.
What is the girl/boy ratio in schools and are these co-education schools?

TCF
schools are basically co-educational institutes, except in cases where
there are cultural restrictions and/or requirements by Provincial
Educational Boards. TCF Schools have close to 50% female student
23. How are you different from government schools?

We are very different from government schools. Please refer to our website section ‘Why We Are Different‘ to learn how.
24. Is zakat acceptable as a donation?
Yes.
TCF maintains a separate account for zakat funds. These funds are
utilized strictly in accordance with the Shariah rules governing their
use.
25. Is there an endowment fund?
TCF
is establishing an endowment fund which when fully in place will meet a
part of its annual running expenses. It intends to increase the size of
this fund over a period of time. With millions of children out of
school, we want to get the maximum number of children into our schools.
26. How do you meet the fund-raiser cost?
The expenses of all fund-raising events, like theater shows etc., are debited to the proceeds of that event.