ISLAMABAD (APP) - The World Bank (WB) and Pakistan here on Tuesday signed three agreements amounting to $.350 million in different social sectors aiming at enhancing productivity of education, social protection and water resources management. The agreements were signed by Acting Country Director WB, Said AL-Habsy and Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Farrukh Quyyum. An agreement amounting to US$.100 million was signed for Higher Education Support Programme, aiming at improving the quality and relevance of teaching and research besides expanding access and enhancing equity in higher education. The programme also envisages strengthening the governance and management of higher education and improving fiscal sustainability and effectiveness of expenditure in higher education. 200 million dollars for project of Social Safety Net Development Policy Credit was also among the three agreements signed Tuesday, which has objective to recognise the need to provide immediate support to poor families and improvement existing safety net programmes. The government launched Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in 2008 as Pakistans main social safety net system. The short-term objective of the programme is to cushion the adverse impact of the food, fuel and financial crisis on the poor but its broader objective is to meet the redistribute goals of the country by providing a minimum income support package to the chronic poor and those who are highly vulnerable to future shocks. The programme will provide cash transfers of Rs.1,000 per month to the eligible families and is expected to cover 3.4 million families in 2008-09. Yet another agreement for additional financing of US$50 million for Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project was signed by Pakistan and WB. The objective of this project is to enable farmers to better manage irrigation water and increase agriculture productivity by improving efficiency, reliability and equity of irrigation water distribution. It would also support agriculture productive enhancement measures besides enhancing the long-term financial sustainability of the irrigation system by fostering the growth of self-sustaining watercourse associations and farmer organisations. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary EAD, Farrakh Qayyum said that the amount was likely to be received within a week and expressed the hope that these projects would help improve performance of these three sectors. In his remarks, WB Deputy Country Director expressed the hope that once implemented, the BISP would provide a tangible system to target the poor population of the country. He lauded the role of HEC saying that it has done wonderful job in improving equity in higher education. He said that WB was already financing water management projects in Sindh and the current agreement was an additional financing keeping in view that success of projects.