ISLAMABAD: Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi told the National Assembly that the education ministry had been asked to arrange funds worth Rs100 million to meet expenditures of educational institutions including the transport fee.
He said that educational institutions in the federal capital have been barred from collecting transport fee from students.
The development comes after school and college management committees asked the students to pay up to Rs2,500 in transport fee.
Earlier, students strongly reacted to the new levy with parents threatening to drop their children from schools if the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) did withdraw the transport fee.
A day earlier, Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain directed the FDE to stop collecting the transport fee with a pledge to arrange funds to run buses as well as meet expenses of drivers and helpers.
The Abbasi told the National Assembly that in 2021, the Finance Division objected to allocating funds educational institutions under the head of transport cost.
He said that different proposals came up about the transport fee including cost-sharing by charging half of the fee from the students.
He said that operating the buses through private-public partnerships was also proposed, however, it was decided to collect the bus transport fee from the students on a cost-sharing basis.
The minister assured the National Assembly that the education ministry would not charge transport fee from the students.
