Kathmandu, March 30, 2006

Keeping in mind the ongoing School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power corporation, has been shedding load for 29 hours a week in the daytime in the Valley since Tuesday. Officials at the Load Dispatch Centre (LDC) of the NEA said that the timing of the load-shedding in the Valley will be from 5:30-9, 9-12, 12-15 and 15-18:30 hours, while there will be no power cuts during the nights until further notice. According to the LDC, the Valley has been divided into groups A, B and C and power would be cut in those areas through various transmission stations on a rotation basis. The area falling under group A would, however, face 33 hours of power-cut a week. Sources at the LDC also attributed the re-scheduled timings to “security reasons”. The LDC officials said that the load-shedding outside the capital, however, would remain at 35 hours a week during the day and night time.  Most of the power plants in Nepal are based on the ‘run-of-river’ schemes, except for the Kulekhani Reservoir Plant, and they fail to produce adequate amount of energy during the dry seasons. NEA officials have blamed less precipitation in the hills and snowfall in the high mountainous areas this dry seson for the power cuts.

Question paper errors put students in confusion

Kathmandu, March 30, 2006

Students attending the SLC exams were confused today after finding errors in the question papers of the Compulsory Mathematics. A Whole Square was missing in a Simplification question in the B1 and B2 set of question papers. “We have instructed most of the district education offices to relay the message of the error in the question and that students can solve the problem by using Whole Square on it, but for those who did not get the message marks shall be awarded as per the marking scheme,” said Controller of Examination Gajendra Lal Pradhan. In another question there was difference in a number in digits and letters. The figure shows number ‘2’ while the question in words shows number ‘three’. Pradhan said that a technical team decided to provide marks to all the questions attempted, as it was an error on the OCE’s part. Another question set, too had, an error. The question has 30 degree instead of 60 degree. Pradhan said that the students who tried to solve the problem using 30 degree or 60 degree would be awarded marks. “Such types of errors occur due to lack of related subject teachers in the proof reading committee,” said Pradhan, controller at Office of Controller of Examination (OCE).