LAHORE, Oct 2: United States Consul General Nina Fite has said the US is continuously evolving its foreign policy towards Pakistan and added, “US and Pakistan are enjoying a long-term positive relationship.”

Ms Fite was speaking to Dawn at the 8th Dawn In Education Spelling Bee Competition 2012 organised by Dawn Media Group in partnership with United States Embassy, Islamabad, and Oxford University Press at Ali Institute of Education on Tuesday.

Referring to the Stanford University’s research report that questioned US-Pakistan relations in the backdrop of drone strikes in Pakistani tribal areas, the US consul general said Washington and Islamabad were constantly talking to each other and were together on common goals.

She said the research universities in the US were entitled to carrying out any research, they were funded to do. “This is not a US government report but a private university’s report, which is free to draw its own conclusions,” she said.

Lauding the Spelling Bee Competition, Ms Fite said the contest would help children to love words that lead them to read and learn. The Spelling Bee competition had provided children, belonging to varied backgrounds, with opportunities to participate in competitions and hone their spelling abilities. “The young 9-11 years of age children are terrific and telling spellings that are sometimes difficult for elders,” she added.

As many as four pool rounds of the 9-11 age group were held on Tuesday. Of competitors, four schools’ teams have qualified for the Lahore Regionals: The winning teams were: Sialkot Grammar School, Daska; Angels International College, Civil Lines Campus, Faisalabad; DHA Senior School for Girls, Lahore; and Lahore Grammar School, 55 Main Gulberg, Lahore. The remaining six pools of 9-11 age school children will be held on Wednesday (today).

Mr Tanwir Shah acted as pronouncer, while the competitions were adjudged by Fatima Hassan and Annas Mirza.

Some 180 schools from 20 cities across Punjab are participating in the Lahore Rounds.

Dawn had organised Spelling Bee Competition in Multan on Sept 26 to facilitate schools in Multan and other South Punjab cities to participate in the prestigious competition near their homes.

The 12-14 age group and 15-17 age group pool rounds will be held on Oct 4 and 5, respectively.

The top three winners in 9-11, 12-14 and 15-17 age groups (pool winners of Multan and Lahore) will participate in the Lahore Regional Championship on Oct 6.

Dawn Spelling Bee Competition organiser Rabeea Salman said the contests aimed at broadening the learning horizon of students beyond classroom boundaries. “Apart from encouraging children to improve their spelling ability and word recognition powers, the DAWN In Education National Spelling Bee aims at providing them a competitive environment that fosters commitment, dedication, comradeship and team spirit.”