Community School Grants, Audit and Social Audit in Nepal

Community schools in Nepal handle public money and answer to parents, the local level and auditors. The details of what you must report change with law and local decisions, so this guide stays general: it explains the records that make every grant, audit and public hearing easier, and tells you who to ask for the exact rules. It is not legal advice.

Grants and their conditions

A school may receive money from the local level, the government and other supporters, each for a purpose. The conditions usually say what the money is for, when it must be spent, what documents prove spending and what report goes back. Keep a grant file for each one with the letter or decision granting it, the amount and date received, the conditions and every voucher charged to it. In your accounts give each grant its own head. At any time you should be able to say: received so much, spent so much on these items, balance so much.

The management committee's role

The management committee is responsible for the school's decisions and funds within the rules. Typical duties include approving the budget, authorising large spending, appointing signatories and reviewing accounts. Record each decision with a number and date in the minutes, and reference the decision number on the relevant voucher. When an auditor asks who allowed a payment, you should be able to point to a minute, not a memory. What the committee may decide and how is set by education rules and your local level, so check them with your education unit.

Annual audit

Schools are generally audited, and the auditor may be appointed or instructed through the local level or another process. Ask in advance what they will check and what format they prefer. Commonly requested items include:

• Cashbook, bank book and ledgers for the year.
• Bank statements and signed reconciliations.
• Numbered vouchers with supporting bills.
• Budget and actual comparison.
• Salary sheets and records of deductions for staff paid from school funds.
• Asset register and stock register.
• Grant files and utilisation reports.
• Minutes of committee meetings.

Social audit and public hearing

Many community schools present income and spending to parents, teachers and the community in a social audit or public hearing. The point is openness: people hear what came in, what was spent and what was achieved. Prepare a simple statement in Nepali: income by source, spending by head, balance, and a short list of what was built, bought or improved. Use a projector or printed copies and allow questions. Record the hearing in minutes, including suggestions made. Required procedure and timing come from your local level, so confirm them with the education unit.

Occasion	Audience	What they want
Committee meeting	Members	Balances, large payments, decisions needed
Annual audit	Auditor	Complete, numbered, reconciled records
Grant report	Funder or local level	Spending against purpose, with proof
Social audit	Parents and community	Plain statement and results

Teacher and staff salary records

Teachers in many community schools are paid through government arrangements, while others, such as additional teachers or staff, may be paid from the school's own funds or local support. For anyone paid from school money, keep a monthly salary sheet showing basic pay, allowances, deductions and advances, signed on payment. Check the rules on tax and social security deductions with your accountant, because they depend on the person and the arrangement.

Fees, donations and local income

Where the school collects any fee or accepts any donation, issue a numbered receipt and credit it to the right head. Rules on what a community school may charge are set outside the school, so confirm them with the education unit, and record only what the rules and the committee allow. Donations in kind, such as furniture or land use, should be noted with a description and signed by the donor and the head teacher.

Budget and planning

Good accounts begin with a budget. At the start of the fiscal year, which begins in Shrawan, the committee prepares a plan: expected income by source and planned spending by head, including repairs, learning materials, events, utilities and staff paid from school funds. Approve it in a meeting and record the minute number. Through the year compare actual against the plan and explain large differences in the committee. A mid-year review, around Poush or Magh, allows adjustments before the rush at year end. A school that plans can also show funders and parents that the money followed a considered direction.

Keep a small reserve in the school fund for emergencies such as storm damage or an urgent repair, and record the committee decision that sets it aside. Rules on what reserves a school may hold depend on local requirements, so check them.

Records to keep for the long term

Some documents are needed long after the year ends: land and building papers, grant agreements, final audit reports, asset registers and committee decisions on major construction. Ask your education unit or auditor how long each kind should be kept and store them in a safe place. Digital copies on a second device provide a useful backup. When the committee changes, hand over these records formally with a signed list, so no one later says they never received them.

How software supports this

The WebsNP community school accounts software is designed to keep grant heads, vouchers, salary sheets and reports together, with BS dates and fiscal year handling. It prepares the records and reports; it does not decide what is allowed and has no official approval or link with any government system unless we confirm one for your case. For committees of other kinds, see user committee software.

Your next step

Ask your education unit or auditor for the report format and deadlines in writing. Then message us on WhatsApp with those documents and we will show how they map into the system.

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