WASHINGTON, November 30, 2010 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today agreed additional support for the sustained implementation of the Government’s reform agenda. To this effect, the Board approved the Higher Education Development Policy Program valued at 50 million USD - the second operation in a programmatic series of three credits.
The credit is provided by the International Development Association (IDA) – the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries.
The Program as a whole is designed to support the Government’s implementation of its “Socio-Economic Development Plan 2006-2010” and its “Higher Education Reform Agenda”. This operation aims at to strengthen governance, rationalize financing, improve the quality of teaching and research, improve accountability for performance, and enhance transparency in financial management within the higher education sector.
“The operation supports a number of policy measures that are being put in place by the Government, aimed at modernizing and improving the efficiency of Vietnam’s higher education system,” said Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank’s Country Director for Vietnam. “The reform program will help tertiary institutions in Vietnam begin to meet growing demand for better quality higher education, including through greater private participation in higher education provision.”
The education sector in Vietnam has expanded rapidly, with the fastest growth taking place at the upper levels of education. As a result of these enrollment and demographic trends, gross and net enrolment rates have continued to increase for all education levels. Higher education coverage, though, remains relatively low.
