Federal Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Rana Tanveer Hussain, has taken notice of the imposition of Rs. 1,500 monthly fees on bus transport in government schools and colleges of the federal government.
According to the details, he has directed the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to withdraw the order immediately and said that no such fees will be imposed on the students.
Consequently, FDE has stopped the colleges from charging the bus fee following various protests and complaints by the parents of the students.
In this regard, the Director-General (DG) of FDE, Dr. Ikram Ali Malik, presided over a meeting in which serious concern was expressed about the bus fees because the decision placed an additional burden on parents, risking students to drop out of school. Resultantly, the government’s campaign to educate out-of-school children could have been undermined.
Moreover, FDE has directed all of the educational institutes and their management committees to stop the collection of bus fees with immediate effect.
Earlier, the College Management Committee (CMC) of the Islamabad Model Colleges announced a hiked-up bus fare of Rs. 1,500 per month for students, which would be paid on a quarterly basis.
It issued an official notification and warned the students that they will not be allowed to travel by school/college buses if they fail to pay this fee on time.
