WASHINGTON – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $60 million to improve the quality of Nepal’s higher education, scale up online learning, and expand access to academic institutions for underprivileged and vulnerable students.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has
highlighted the critical importance of building back better and prioritizing human
capital development,” stated Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and
Sri Lanka. “Improving
access to quality higher education and helping students acquire the skills that
are in demand in the labor market will contribute to Nepal’s COVID-19 recovery
and strengthen its resilience.”
The Nurturing Excellence in Higher Education Program builds
on Nepal’s previous successful higher education projects supported through
results-based financing. It will help the government of Nepal align
its higher education sector with labor market needs, boost collaborative
research and entrepreneurship, improve governance, and access to quality higher
education, especially for disadvantaged students. The
COVID-19 pandemic has created strong incentives to expand online platforms
and blended learning, which the program will help scale up across Nepal’s
universities.
“A key priority of the
program is to promote the inclusion of disadvantaged students, including those
facing economic hardship due to COVID-19,” stated Mohan Aryal, World Bank’s Program Task Team
Leader. “The program will
expand targeted scholarships to help disadvantaged students pursue labor
market-driven academic programs and support equity grants to higher education
institutions in needy and disaster-affected areas in Nepal.”
