Washington, August 5, 2010 — The World Bank Group today approved US$23 million in grant and credit to help strengthen higher education institutions in Cambodia. The Higher Education Quality and Capacity Improvement Project aims to improve the quality of teaching, management and research capacity, and provide scholarships to disadvantaged students.
“Investing in human capital for Cambodia’s sustainable development and poverty reduction is a key component of our Country Assistance Strategy,” said World Bank Country Manager, Qimiao Fan. “I hope that this new project will help the country, particularly the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, to strengthen its quality standards for education, as well as build the skills needed for the public and private sectors.”
The International Development Association – the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries – is providing a grant and interest-free loan for the project, each valued at US$11.5 million. This five-year project will focus on four main components:
- Strengthening the capacity of Cambodia’s higher education system by improving the overall development, management and governance of the higher education institutions. This involves strengthening the capacity of the Department of Higher Education, Department of Scientific Research, the Accreditation Committee and Higher Education Institutes.
- Providing Competitive Development and Innovation Grants that could help improve teaching and management, as well as provide practical solutions for existing development problems in the country.
- Providing Scholarships to Disadvantaged Students based on pro-poor targeting and educational criteria.
- Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation
