PESHAWAR: Two hundred girl students of Access English Micro Scholarship Programme at Fata University Kohat graduated at an online ceremony on Wednesday.

The two-year long US Embassy-funded after-school language learning programme provides a foundation of English language and leadership skills to talented students from economically disadvantaged communities, according to a press release.

US Consul General Richard H Riley attended the online ceremony and told the students that the United States viewed funding the Access English Language Programme as an investment in the future of Pakistan and the world. “We know that nations that empower women are more prosperous, safer and more politically stable,” he added.

Fata University Vice-chancellor Dr Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan also attended the ceremony along with the graduating students from the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The programme includes a minimum of 360 hours of virtual or in-person instruction over two years. More than 20,000 Pakistani students, including 2,000 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have participated in the the programme, funded by the American people, since its launch in Pakistan in 2005.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2021