ISLAMABAD, June 6: Parents have expressed their concern over the charging of additional tuition fee for extra coaching classes being held for students of classes 9th and 10th during summer vacations.

The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) had issued a directive, asking students of classes 9th and 10th in model colleges/schools to attend one-month compulsory classes from June 9 to July 8, and pay additional fee of Rs400 for this period.

In a press statement, the parents claimed that under the existing rules, the amount of tuition fee was determined by the government. In this case, the education ministry was not consulted before imposing the extra fee.

They said the directive had been passed by the FDE without the permission of the federal education ministry. Hence, the amount of fee being charged by the school/college concerned is not going to be deposited in the national exchequer, but will be used as ‘student fund’ at the discretion of the principals concerned, they added.

The parents said they were already paying tuition fee and student fund on regular basis, and had also paid their fees for the summer vacations.

In schools other than model schools and colleges, such summer coaching classes are a regular feature and students do not pay extra fee. If there were any extra expenditures, these were met from the available student fund of the respective college/school.