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ANEC Constitution

Last Update: 11:31 AM 09-12-2018
  
 
   
 
 

ANEC CONSTITUTION

 

As amended at the General Meeting on 9th May 2016.

Article 1: Name

This body shall be known as the “Afghanistan National Education Coalition (ANEC)”

Article 2: Prologue

Afghanistan National Education Coalition (ANEC) initial work started in November-2015 by ANAFAE with technical support of Asia South Pacific for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) and financial support from Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF). in May 2016 ANEC in coordination with 35 National and International Organizations has created CSOs platform to have continuing engagement with the Government, National and International Organizations, local civil society organizations (CSOs) and civilians in Afghanistan to provide a platform for genuine dialogue and identify areas for partnerships towards education policy advocacy and capacity building for local CSOs.

Article 3: Vision

Lifelong, Quality and Equitable Education insures Wealthy, Tolerant & Sustainable Society

Article 4: Mission

Together we are engaged to advocate for Quality, Accessible, relevant and accountable education for all

Article 5: Core Values

The Code of Conduct (COC) is a set of shared norms, principles and values that aims to guide the conduct of NGOs in Afghanistan. Below are the general principles of ANEC as promoted by the COC:

  1. ANEC believes in all norms, principles and values according to all organizations’ procedures which are mentioned bellow.
  2. We obey all the national and international laws in performing our activities.
  3. We are responsive, clear and accountable to all legal references (People, government, supporters and etc.).
  4. We keep ourselves independent of Afghanistan and international laws and resist against any corruptive imposed condition which makes our principles questionable.
  5. In all of our activities, we don’t consider any discrimination in any race, ethics, disabilities and politic affiliations.

Article 6: ANEC Goals

Main goal of Afghanistan National Education Coalition is to provide a coordination framework of national and civil society organizations for their active participation and persistent debate in a working framework, in order to make areas certain for observation, advocacy and capacity building and have discussions about them.

Specifically, ANEC working goals are:

  1. Providing working framework for coordination between national and international associations which are responsive to education sector.
  2. Active participation in educational meetings at national, regional and international levels in order to coordinate, advocate and trade sharing which could develop and strengthen quality education in Afghanistan
  3. Persistent observation from application of national education programs including SDG4 which have been promised for Afghanistan by government and united nations.
  4. Providing capacity building basis for national associations in order to better application of advocacy programs and their working programs.
  5. Making a base for connecting educational donors with national education associations and organization.
  6. Holding ceremonies and national education programs for development and strengthening education programs such as (World Global Action Week, Literacy Week, Teacher Global Day, National and International Education sector days and etc.)
  7. Collection, presentation and sharing of information about education situation at national, regional and international levels for ANEC members

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CHAPTER 1: Leading Organization of National Education Coalition Association

ANEC is comprised of four components:

  1. General Assembly
  2. Steering Committee
  3. Secretariat
  4. Advisory Board

1.1       General Assembly

Article 7: The General Assembly consists of all the members of ANEC from national associations and organizations that are working for education.

Article 8: The General Assembly shall meet once a year which should be held in March or April.

Article 9: The General Assembly is the highest decision making organ of ANEC and will approve the annual budget, the annual report and annual plan.

Article 10: The General Assembly will elect the Steering Committee by simple majority vote.

Article 11: Only the most senior legal representative of the organization in country can stand for positions on the Steering Committee. In running for any position, candidates should expect to be present for the coming year.

Article 12: Steering Committee members must be from interior organizations. Advisory Board members cannot achieve membership of Steering Committee.

1.2      Steering Committee

Article 13: The Steering Committee of members will monitor the work of ANEC and the Secretariat and guide them if necessary.  This body will have 9 members including Chairman, Deputy Director and Financial Manager which represent the Steering Committee.

Article 14: Steering Committee meetings will convene on a monthly basis and at least once per three months. Ad hoc meetings may be called as required by suggestion of secretariat or steering committee.

Article 15: The Chairperson of ANEC will Chair the meetings of the Steering Committee in which quorum is 5 people.

1.3      Secretariat

Article 16: The ANEC Secretariat has been established to deliver ANEC services on behalf of the membership, to whom it is accountable, through the Steering Committee and the Chairperson.

1.4      Advisory Board

Article 17: Advisory Board members are official representatives of international organization who that work in education sector and educational and civil society sector specialists can be members too.

Article 18: Advisory Board members have all the rights the same as main members except voting in general assembly and steering committee.

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CHAPTER 2: Members and Membership Qualifications

Article 19: Members and Membership Qualifications

ANEC shall be composed of members who are willing to abide by and follow the Code of Conduct for NGOs in Afghanistan, the ANEC Statutes and any additional membership criteria as decided by the General Assembly.

Mandatory criteria for all members

Article 20: Rules and Criteria for potential major members of Coalition:

Organization-members must be nongovernmental, not-for-profit, non-partisan, non-political neutral and non-proselytizing organizations (NGO), and provided activities in education sector. They should have documented evidences for their registration with Afghanistan government.

Article 21: Rules and Criteria for Advisory Board members:

Advisory Board members must be introduced by one of international organizations which works in education sector. Introduced person must have complete sovereignty on national languages because all the meetings are in these languages.
Advisory Board members can be afghan education elites and specialists.

Article 22: Membership registration procedure:

Future members can send their request form by email or official document to coalition secretariat with all their supporting documents from corresponding organization. A confirmation will be sent to them after the process is completed by steering committee.

Article 23: Membership and Rights:

There is no right for membership in national education coalition and will be considered in future if necessary.

Article 24: Commitment to coordination, information sharing, transparency and accountability:

All the members must commit to coordination, information sharing, transparency and responsibility.

Article 25: Membership will be cancelled if:

  1. Member stop their activities in Afghanistan
  2. Member requests for cancellation
  3. Member acts opposite the goals and values of coalition or any other performance orders
  4. Steering Committee finds the member misdeed
  5. Fired members can join back after their case is solved

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CHAPTER 3: Rights and Duties of Members

Article 26: Each member organization has the right to ask ANEC for advice and assistance in matters concerning training and education and advocacy issues. Members are also entitled to receive circulars, annual reports and other documents as provided by ANEC.

Article 27: Every member has the right to put forward comments to ANEC on matters concerning activities, development and management of ANEC.

Article 28: Each member organization will have one vote at the General Assembly and Director’s meetings.

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CHAPTER 4: Other Responsibilities of ANEC

Article 29: General Assembly

The General Assembly is the governing body of ANEC and the final decision making council. The General Assembly has the power to overrule any decisions made by the Steering Committee or any Sub-Committee.

Article 30: Date and Attendance at Meetings of the General Assembly

General Assembly meetings are open to all ANEC members and shall take place in March or April annually. Representatives of government, diplomatic and international assistance community and national experts of education can be invited.

Article 31: General Assembly Meeting Procedures

  1. Each member organisation may have a total of two representatives at meetings of the General Assembly but with only one voting representative.
  2. Each member organisation will sign up on arrival and designate the voting member for the day’s meeting. The designated voting member will also be the only person who can put forward motions on behalf of the member organisation. A voting card will be given to member organisations and the voting cards will be returned at the end of the meeting.
  3. Voting will be conducted by the raising of voting cards or by a secret ballot if requested by any member and approved by a majority of present members.
  4. The Agenda and papers for the Annual General Assembly must be sent to members two weeks in advance of the meeting and for the Extra-Ordinary General Assembly meeting within three working days.
  5. A General Assembly quorum shall consist of half of the current members plus one. If quorum is not completed, the meeting is cancelled and another invitation is sent and in the next meeting is held by the number of members participated.
  6. No proxy votes are permitted.
  7. All meetings are to be conducted according to generally accepted rules of order.
  8. Meetings and written communications of ANEC are in one of the national languages.

Article 32: Annual General Assembly Agenda

  1. Report on ANEC activities for the previous year
  2. Acceptance of the audited financial report
  3. Approval of the annual financial narrative reports
  4. Election of the Steering Committee
  5. Final approval of the Plans, Priorities and Budget for the forthcoming year

Article 33: Election Procedures for the Steering Committee

Supervision and Nominations

  1. Elections will be supervised and carried out by an Election Committee of three: two Members elected at the Mid-Term General Assembly and the ANEC Director who will also count the votes.
  2. The Election Committee will be responsible for checking and confirming the nominations. This includes: obtaining written letter of acceptance from each nominee, checking the validity of the ballots and counting the ballots.
  3. Members will be asked for nominations for Steering Committee and the Chairperson some 4-6 weeks in advance of the Annual General Assembly.
  4. Nominations may be made by email or by letter. Members can either:
  • Nominate themselves
  • Nominate another member

The nominees who are elected must be committed to responsibilities and laws as a member of steering committee.

Article 34: Steering Committee Election Procedures

  1. Elections to the Steering Committee will be held at the Annual General Assembly which will elect the Chairperson, 9 Members of the Steering Committee.
  2. At least one of these 9 members should be from one of working group sections (mentioned in chapter 7). Larger working group sections like general education can have more than one member.
  3. The Chairperson will be directly elected by the General Assembly.

Article 35: Steering Committee and Staff Terms of Office

  1. The term of the Steering Committee will be 12 months, and each elected Chairperson will be limited to two consecutive terms of office (but can stand again for election if the term is not consecutive).
  2. Steering Committee members are volunteers and don’t have any salary. Coalition pays the expenses of their participation in meetings.
  3. Steering Committee and staff responsibilities are observation, information, guidance and help and are responsive to coalition activities.
  4. This committee hold their meetings according to regular timetable.
  5. Steering Committee must monitor performance of secretariat, chairman and working groups created by coalition.
  6. Steering Committee is responsible of strategic planning, development of programs and recruitment of donations for coalition.
  7. Steering Committee by examining the foreign needs and political environment of the country plans for effective and long term strategic programs for structure, budget, support and policy of coalition.
  8. Steering Committee tries to make coalition a valid organization which provides information on time for the members and if member requests, comes into action itself.
  9. Steering Committee members as representatives of coalition, keep their building relationship for further coordination and cooperation with ministries and governmental offices, UN agencies, donors, non-governmental offices and etc.
  10. Committee has the eligibility to create sub committees according to special conditions which can be terminated after solving the case.
  11. At least three of the committee members can hold and emergency meeting with leadership of their chairman within three days.
  12. If necessary, committee members can join a meeting by Skype or video conference.
  13. The Steering Committee shall exercise overall supervision of the Secretariat in respect of:
  • Ensuring that the Director fulfils the terms of his/ her job description
  • Strategic planning, program development, and fundraising
  • Providing feedback on the Director’s assessment of the needs/interests of members and the external environment
  • The development of new programs and fundraising so that ANEC is adequately resourced.

Article 36: Resignation/Termination of Steering Committee Membership

Steering Committee membership is discontinued under the following circumstances:

  1. If so decided at a meeting of the General Assembly by a simple majority vote.
  2. If the membership of the organisation in ANEC has been terminated
  3. If a member of the Steering Committee fails to attend, without due and properly explained reason, three meetings of the Steering Committee.
  4. The person elected does not want to continue as a Steering Committee member and resigns.

Article 37: Functions and Responsibilities of ANEC Chairperson

  1. The Chairperson, with the Director, serves as the face of ANEC for the humanitarian and development community in Afghanistan and globally, represents ANEC at functions and meetings with the GoIRA, UN, donors and other parties with which ANEC engages and provides feedback.
  2. As the first person, chairs the monthly Steering Committee Meetings.
  3. Has overall responsibility for programmatic supervision of the Secretariat, and with the Steering Committee provides strategic leadership.
  4. Monitors and advises the Secretariat Coordinator and Safety and Security Director on duties undertaken.
  5. Seeks member input in maintaining an effective and responsive Secretariat.
  6. Manages utilisation of the ANEC funds.
  7. Is authorised to approve payment up to USD 2,000 for ANEC related activities without prior approval of the Steering Committee. More than this amount for incidental activities requires approval by the Steering Committee
  8. Signs all binding documents of ANEC which have been approved by the Steering Committee or General Assembly.

Article 38: Functions and Responsibilities of ANEC Vice-Chairperson

  1. Deputize for Chairperson as required
  2. Function as Chairperson until elections are held if the Chairperson leaves office before the end of his/her term
  3. Sign cheques and other documents in the event the treasurer and Chairperson are unavailable.
  4. Carry out special assignments as requested by the Chairperson.

Article 39: Functions and Responsibilities of ANEC Treasurer

  1. Mandatory signatory on cheques by email over the amount of USD $2,000
  2. Ensuring the budget is adhered to
  3. Tracking expenditure and income
  4. Advising the Director in preparation of the annual budget
  5. Presenting the annual budget and audit report in the General Assembly
  6. Providing monthly financial reports to the Steering Committee
  7. Reviewing the annual audit and auditors’ letter to management and preparing Action Plan on issues raised
  8. Ensuring proper procurement procedures are followed
  9. Approving all purchases over USD $2,000

Article 40: ANEC Secretariat

Composition

  1. The ANEC Secretariat is comprised of the salaried staff of ANEC, including the ANEC Director.
  2. The performance and structure of the Secretariat will be reviewed through an external evaluation every year. Changes to the structure and function of the ANEC Secretariat will take place in accordance with evaluation of outcomes and long term strategic plans.
  3. Staffing additions/subtractions or changes in line management proposed require a simple majority vote from the Steering Committee.
  4. The Secretariat according to internal principles, is responsible to handle daily activities according to approved plan and financial affairs.
  5. The Secretariat has oversight of expenditure against approved budget and provides regular updates of expenditure to the Steering Committee.
  6. The Secretariat will ensure that donors and Afghanistan government’s reporting requirements are met.
  7. The Secretariat will provide basic support to taskforces as agreed.

Article 41: ANEC Director

  1. ANEC shall employ a Director to manage the day-to-day activities of ANEC in accordance with the Statutes, his/her Job Description and in line with the strategic plan.
  2. The ANEC Director is accountable to the membership and reports to the Chairperson.
  3. The Director is responsible for and shall manage all ANEC staff.
  4. The activities of the staff members and the Secretariat shall be governed by job descriptions which will be approved by the Steering Committee.
  5. The ANEC Director attends Steering Committee meetings without voting rights.
  6. Annual work plans and budgets are prepared by the Director in collaboration with Secretariat staff for review and endorsement by the Steering Committee. After endorsement both will be presented to the Annual General Assembly.
  7. The Steering Committee vests authority in the Director to take responsibility for all day-to-day operational aspects of the staff.

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CHAPTER 5: Finance

Article 42: The fiscal year of ANEC is from the 1st January to 31st December.

Article 43: During the fiscal year no revision may be made in the current year’s approved budget without prior approval by the Steering Committee or the General Assembly. Within the budget, however, savings in one budget line may be transferred to another budget line provided this is in accordance with donor regulations and endorsed by the Treasurer.

Article 44: All cheques and financial documents must be signed by: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer, and Director, where the signature of the Treasurer is normally mandatory unless there are special circumstances which should be reported to the Steering Committee.

Article 45: The Director and the Steering Committee are responsible for soliciting funds from as wide a base of donors as possible and to ensure neutrality of the organisation. The Chairperson and/or Vice-Chairperson should be informed beforehand and are expected themselves to be in close contact with donors.

Article 46: ANEC shall prepare monthly financial reports, which will meet the requirements of budgeting and cash accounting.

Article 47: Copies of the monthly financial reports will be distributed to the Steering Committee members by the Director. The Annual financial accounts of ANEC must be audited every year by an outside auditing firm proposed by the Steering Committee and approved by the General Assembly.

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CHAPTER 6: Intervention in Public Education Policies

Article 48: In undertaking advocacy work on behalf of its members, ANEC may, from time to time, issue public statements or press releases, or hold press conferences according to NGOs’ principles.

Article 49: When the statement is on a matter endorsed by the majority vote of ANEC members, the Steering Committee, the Director and Chairperson are empowered to speak and issue statements as representative of all members of ANEC

Article 50: Important public statements in writing on issues, which are not covered by guiding documents or previously discussed in Steering Committee, shall be approved by the Steering Committee in advance. Spokespersons must be members or staff of ANEC.

Article 51: After statements are made they should be circulated subsequently to the Steering Committee and ANEC members.

Article 52: Every member including Steering Committee members have the right to publicly announce his/her reservation(s).

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CHAPTER 7: Working Groups

Article 53: ANEC may establish two types of Working Groups: ad hoc Task Forces which can be constituted as and when necessary to deal with specific short term issues or tasks; and Working Groups which are formed on the basis of its basic mandate and strategic objectives and should include working education sectors in Afghanistan. Such as; Public Education Sector Working Group, Islamic Education, Teacher Training, Literacy Learning and Adult Education, Technical and Vocational Education, Advocacy and other working groups will be created if necessary. These working groups can create other small working groups under their umbrella.

Article 54: Working Groups Practices

  1. Every working group, according to national and international strategic priorities in line of education, should focus on main educational areas like access, inclusiveness, high quality, appropriate budget and etc.
  2. Emergency working groups are created with the decision of Steering Committee.
  3. The Steering Committee will agree on precise work plan and TOR of the Working Group or Task Force and ensure follow up and monitor the implementation of the agreed work plan.
  4. ANEC working group must be active in direct coordination with secretariat which should provide better communication and cooperation between them.
  5. The Working Group or Task Force will elect its own Chair and a person who reports to the Secretariat, General Assembly or Steering Committee depending on the need.
  6. The Steering Committee and Secretariat shall review Working Groups and Task Forces always and may wind up or disband them if assigned task are completed or the relevance of the Group is no longer necessary.
  7. The Working Groups and Task Forces will determine the frequency of their meetings and report back to the Steering Committee on a regular basis and sessions are archived.

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CHAPTER 8: Provincial and Regional Committees of ANEC

Article 55: ANEC may establish regional and provincial committees or moving staff to enhance its work.

Article 56: Provincial and Regional Committees’ Role and Practices

  1. Regional or Provincial Committees can be established by any group of ANEC members after making a request to the Director who will obtain approval from the Steering Committee.
  2. Such Committees shall be open to all ANEC members. 
  3. The role of these committees is to plan and co-ordinate activities in the region or province concerned in accordance with Statutes of Operation and other guiding documents approved by the General Assembly and/or Steering Committee.
  4. Each Regional or Provincial Committee shall participate as the representative of their region or province in Annual General Assembly.
  5. The Regional or Provincial Committees will determine the frequency of their meetings and report back to the Director and the Steering Committee on monthly basis.

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CHAPTER 9: Amendments to The Statutes and Liquidation

Article 57: Changes to the Statutes can be made by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership attending a General Assembly meeting as long as the quorum is met.

Article 58: The Statutes of Operation become effective the day a two-thirds majority vote of members attending the General Assembly approves them.

Article 59: In case ANEC is dissolved, or is liquidated for any reason whatsoever, the General Assembly will determine how the funds of ANEC will be liquidated in line with NGO legislation and donor regulations.

Article 60: In order to dissolve ANEC as an organization, the General Assembly is requiring to take this decision by a two-thirds majority vote.

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This statute is created in sixty articles and is effective after General Assembly’s approval.

Kabul, Afghanistan

© 2024 Afghanistan National Education Coalition
E-mail: info@anec.af