PM greets Irish prez

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has extended his congratulations to President of Ireland Mary McAleese and the people of Ireland on the occasion of the National Day of Ireland. In his message, which was sent on Sunday, PM Koirala has wished good health and happiness to President McAleese as well as progress and prosperity of the people of Ireland. He has expressed his confidence that the friendly relations between the two countries would grow further in the years ahead. — RSS

Teachers appointed

MADHYAPUR THIMI: The government has appointed 13,300 teachers in government and community schools across the country this year under the relief teachers’ quota programme. Under the scheme, the government has provided grants worth Rs 1,814 in the hilly, Rs 2,041 in the mountainous and Rs 1,633 in the Tarai region for one teacher per student in schools being run by the communities, said Mahashram Sharma, director general of the Department of Education. Each teacher will get Rs 6,200 salary a month under the relief quota. Grants for community schools has also been sent to 75 districts. Under this scheme, the schools will receive Rs 1,800 per student in the secondary level and Rs 3,500 in lower-secondary level.— RSS

Dogs’ week ends

MADHYAPUR THIMI: The Dogs’ Week, a week-long awareness programme on animal health, organised by Himalayan College of Agriculture, Science and Technology concluded on Saturday. Nearly 100 domestic dogs were given rabies vaccines, said programme coordinator Rajan Dhakal. In the programme, 1,200 school students were also informed about the importance of keeping their animals healthy. — RSS

Book policy in offing

LALITPUR: The government has constituted a six-member National Book Policy Drafting Committee under the convenorship of general manager of Sajha Publications, Ramesh Prasad Bhattarai. The members of the Committee include: President of National Book Publications’ Association Ramchandra Timothi, Basanta Thapa of Himal Association, President of Nepal Stationery and Book Entrepreneurs’ Federation Dhanraj Acharya, Shambhu Dahal of the Curriculum Development Centre and Nirmala Shrestha of the TU Central Library Department. — RSS