SWABI: A project was launched on Tuesday to improve the living standard of the vulnerable segment of the community in Kalu Khan and Karnal Sher union councils of Razar tehsil here.

The project, `Support Vulnerable Population of District Swabi`, is funded by the USAID under the Small Grant and Ambassador Fund Programme (SGAFP).

Under the project, 150 women home-based workers would be selected and imparted training and provided with essential tools and raw materials to help them develop and market their products in the post-project period. The project envisages setting up two trade facilitation and communication centres in each union council.

The opening ceremony was held atMansabdar area.

Local community members, USAID-SGAFP representatives, officials of government departments and `Support With Working Solutions (SWWS), which is also implementing partner in the project; and mediapersons participated in the event. They were briefed about the objectives of the project.

STUDENTS` ABSENT EEISM: Speakers at a gathering of academia on Tuesday called for parents-teachers coordination to get rid of students` absenteeism in schools.

The gathering was held at government high school, Topi, which was attended by district education officer Jehangir Khan, teachers, studentsandscoutsbelongingtodifferentschools.

Theparticipantssaidteachersshouldchange habit of absenteeism among students while using different result-oriented tactics. They said both the teachers and parents should not take the students` absenteeism as an ordinaryproblem.

On the occasion, DEO Jehangir Khan said the monitoring teams visiting the schools would collect information about total number of absent students. `No student should remain absent from school, particularly the ninth and tenth graders because they were going to appear in the board examinations and needed regularity in study to get good marks,` he stressed.

Mohammad Hanif, former district education officer, said teachers should monitor activities of their students and if a student remained absent for several days then his/her parents should be contacted to know about the genuine cause of his not coming to school.

Murad Ali, district scout in-charge, said punishment, lack of interest of students, illiterate parents, economic backwardness, environment, bad company and teachers` approach were some of the causes of absenteeism of students.