By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 20: The World Bank has agreed to provide USD 60 million (about Rs. 7 billion), concessional loan assistance for the ‘Nurturing Excellence Higher Education in Nepal’ programme.
The agreement was signed by Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini on behalf of the government of Nepal and Faris Hadad-Zervos, Country Director for Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka on behalf of the World Bank at a programme held at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.
The programme is believed to help improve Nepal’s higher education, increase the use of information technology in learning and increase access to educational institutions for disadvantaged students.
Stating that Nepal’s priority was to invest in human capital to help the youth achieve their full potential, Finance Secretary Marasini said that it would benefit students who have been deprived of education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Investing in the capacity building and development of the youth is a special priority of the government. This programme will help those who have been deprived of higher education due to the coronavirus across the country,” he said.
World Bank Country Director Faris said it was important to make quality higher education accessible, inclusive and relevant to the needs of the labour market, and expressed confidence that the programme would make a significant contribution to strengthening Nepal’s resuscitation.
He stressed on the need to make the network of campuses accessible to all to reconnect those who have been deprived of education due to COVID-19.
Similarly, the programme will provide scholarships from various universities of Nepal for the production of skilled manpower as per the demand of the market, according to a press statement of Ministry of Finance.
It is said that such scholarships will be given especially to the students who are backward and deprived of higher education due to various reasons.