ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an investigation into non-operationalisation of buses provided under the Prime Minister`s Education Reforms Programme for schools and colleges under the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

On his direction, the Prime Minister`s Inspection Commission has launched an inquiry and sought details form the education ministry.

In 2017, the then PML-N government had provided 200 buses to FDE for schools and colleges. However, the institutions faced issues in operating the buses becauseof the irregular release of funds and the absence of permanent staffers. In a highly questionable move, the buses could not be operated fully for several years.

The FDE claimed that in these years around 45 buses were dysfunctional, which were repaired last year and handed over to schools and colleges. Out of the buses, 22 were being used for Pink Bus Service launched by the ministry of education to pick and drop private and regular students and staff travelling between rural and urban areas of the capital.

Last year, the FDE officials said over 90pc of the buses were made functional through staff hired by a private firm.

In a letter dated February 21, the PM`s inspection commission ordered the ministry of education to provide complete files of purchase of the buses, registration record, month-wise meter reading from financial year 2016 to January 2025 and their movement register/logbool(s from 2016 to January this year. The commission also sought the record of pick-and-drop routes of these buses.

The commission directed the ministry to provide record of hiring drivers and con-ductors for the buses and details of expenditures incurred on their salaries.

It sought `monthly expenditure statement of fuel, repair and maintenance of transport of FDE from 2016 to January 2025.

The ministry was directed to also provide details of class IV employees from 2016 to January 2025 and posts created in FDE from 2016 to 2019. Sources said after receiving the letter from the inspection commission, FDE officials spent a busy weekend compiling the records.

An official source said the inquiry commission should also get details of the transport fee collected by schools and colleges from students in these years. He said when schools and colleges were facing shortage of funds, they used to charge students for using the bus service.

`There is a need to check independently if this practice of charging students is still in place. I guess, many schools and colleges are still charging students a monthly transport fee,` he said.

The source said there was also a need to check why funds and posts were not provided by the federal government for hiringdrivers and conductors and why FDE opted to go for the third party hiring.

`These are important aspects which ought to be probed. It should also be ascertained if a transparent mechanism was adopted for hiring the private firm to provide drivers and conductors,` the source said.

The inspection commission also sought details from the education ministry about handing over of one of the 200 buses to the CDA and five buses to the Directorate of Special Education.

The FDE oversees over 430 schools and colleges in the capital. However, it has been without a regular director general since July 2023 when the then DG was sidelined in a questionable manner. After a considerable delay, in September last year, the ministry of education completed the interview process and shortlisted three candidates.

The list was subsequently sent to the Prime Minister`s Office for selection of one of the candidates for the post. However, sources said the summary was returned from the PM office as the ministry had not get a court case cleared against the appointment.