RAWALPINDI: The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad, has issued the date sheet for SSCI part I and II scheduled to take place from September 22.

“It is hereby notified for the general information of all concerned that SSC part I and II second annual examinations 2022 of the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad, shall commence with effect from Thursday, September 22, according to the given schedule,” the board said.

The exams will end on October 13. CLICK HERE

The EU is providing €1.8 million in humanitarian aid to families affected by flash floods across large parts of Pakistan. The aid funding will assist affected people in some of the hardest-hit districts of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “Unusually heavy monsoon rains led to deadly flash floods in Pakistan. While the assessment on the ground is ongoing, we expect more than 1 million people having lost their homes and in need of direct assistance. The EU contribution underlines our commitment to the people of Pakistan and enables our partners to provide life-saving aid to those most affected.” 

The funding is allocated to EU humanitarian partners operating on the ground to meet immediate needs of flood stricken families, including through the provision of temporary emergency shelter, food and clean water, cash transfers and primary healthcare services.

This latest funding comes in addition to last week’s allocation of €350,000 in aid to help people in Pakistan’s flood-affected province of Balochistan.

The EU is funding humanitarian aid operations in Pakistan since the 1990s. 

ISLAMABAD, AUG 26 (DNA) — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the power distribution companies to revise the electricity bills of up to 200 units within 24 hours adjusting the relief under the fuel adjustment charge (FAC) announced by the government.

The prime minister, who chaired a high level meeting to address the issues faced by the power consumers, also constituted a committee on the subject’. He instructed that the staffers of the distribution companies should work round the clock to ensure the revision of electricity bills. He asked the authorities concerned to cancel the leaves of all the staffers and present him a compliance report immediately.

The prime minister said that the banks should also be directed to remain open in the coming days to enable the consumers pay their revised electricity bills. The meeting was told that the implementation of the relief package announced by the prime minister was being ensured. The electricity bills of around 16.6 million were being corrected to provide them the relief under fuel price adjustment.

The prime minister instructed the authorities concerned to ensure the execution of the relief measures announced by the government.  Later, addressing a press conference Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has informed that a committee has been formed to contemplate on providing relief to power consumers using 200 to 300 units while announcing that no fuel adjustment charges will be taken from 56% electricity users.

The finance minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee to look into the matter as how the consumers using between 200 and 300 units could be facilitated.  Miftah said that the power consumers got fuel adjustment charges for the month of May. The electricity which was produced in May was very pricey, he added.

He clarified that those who had not yet paid the electricity bills would be issued with corrected ones without fuel price adjustment. He said those who had already paid the bills, the adjustment would be made in September bills.

He assured that the government would not take fuel adjustment charges from 56% electricity users.  He said Pakistan intended to install solar power projects of 8,000 megawatts which would help bring down the prices of electricity. =DNA

This is the second payment of a EUR 42 million grant made available through budget support by the European Union under the DEEP

Mahnoor Ansar

ISLAMABAD:  The European Union is disbursing nearly PKR 2.2 billion (EUR 10 million) to the Government of Sindh to strengthen the implementation of provincial education policies. 

This is the second payment of a EUR 42 million grant made available through budget support by the European Union under the Development through Enhanced Education Programme (DEEP). 

This direct financial support creates opportunities to accelerate access to quality education for all children in the Sindh province, as a foundation for future training and skills development and engagement in productive employment. The programme fully aligns with the Sindh School Education Sector Plan & Roadmap 2019-2024 with a focus on priority reform areas in governance, enrolment and teaching quality. UNICEF provides complementary technical assistance to strengthen the Sindh School Education and Literacy Department’s (SELD) responsive capacity and systems to plan, manage and deliver quality and equitable education.   

The Sindh Minister of Education, Mr. Syed Sardar Ali Shah, highlighted,“Education continues to be one of the key priority areas for Government of Sindh. We aim at improving access to equitable, inclusive and quality education for all to realize their fullest potential and contribute to the development of society and economy, thus creating sense of nationhood, inculcating values of tolerance, social justice and democracy. SELD has come a long way in remodeling the edifice of education in collaboration with the Donors, development partners and civil society. The contribution of European Union in the shape of Development through Enhanced Education with budgetary support allocation of 42 million Euros is quite commendable. This will not only help in carry out the activities of Education Sector plan 2019-24, but also bring forth the quality education in Sindh.”

“Education and learning are fundamental to development and growth. We welcome the latest reform implementation measures by the Government of Sindh; these include the updated school clustering policy and continuous professional development model for teachers as well as the increased digitalization of monitoring systems”, commented the Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan, Dr. Riina Kionka. “A lot, however, still remains to be done with an estimated 6 million children who are still out of school, of which over half are girls. The European Union remains a committed partner to the Government of Sindh in improving the quality of education and ensure access for all boys and girls in the province.” 

The European Union’s support to primary and secondary education is a priority area under the European Union-Pakistan Strategic Engagement Plan, which serves as a guide for bilateral relations between the two sides and aims to further enhance engagement and work towards addressing emerging global challenges.