Nepal has received a US$ 65 million credit from the World Bank to reform its higher education system.
The World Bank on Friday approved the credit for the Nepal Higher Education Reforms Project, which is expected to benefit more than 500,000 current and future students of over 150 public universities and affiliated campuses through various programs.
"The project for which we received the grant was in the pipeline for the last few years," said education secretary Bishwo Prakash Pandit. "We will use this credit to enhance our higher education system."
“Investing in human capital is critical for Nepal,” said Takuya Kamata, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Nepal. “This Project will help support key institutional reforms in the higher education sector."
According to a press statement released by the World Bank, the project in question intends to support reforms in selected institutions for improving quality, relevance, and efficiency of higher education and to assist under-privileged students for equitable access.
"The project will focus on implementation of reforms in different areas including more effective public funding of higher education institutions, institutionalization of the national accreditation system, greater institutional autonomy, strengthening of the examination system, expansion of new academic programs and research and financial support for under-privileged students," read the press release.
The project is part of Nepal's National Program for Higher Education Reform and Development (NPHERD).