Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

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these countries to meet the terms and conditions of IBRD so these countries did not have equal
access to the loans. IDA helps the world‟s poorest countries reduce poverty by providing credits
and grants at subsidized rates usually sovereign guarantees are necessary to avail the loans.
Credits given by IDA are loans at zero interest with a 10-year grace period and maturities of 20,
35 or 40 year period. These credits are often referred to as Concessional Lending. At present 170
countries are the members of IDA, 79 of them are the world‟s poorest countries with a
population of more than 2.5 billion. Among these poor countries 23 are in Asia and 39 are
located in Africa. Since 1960, IDA has lent US$222 billion to 108 countries and more than 50%
of this lending went to the African countries. IDA resources need to be replenished time to time,
so 51 donor nations contributed to replenish it sixteen times since its inception by providing
nearly US$50 billion. IDA is funded largely by contributions from the governments of its high
income member countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France,
Italy, and Canada are the largest contributor. IDA annual lending figures have been increasing
steadily and the average stands at about US$13 billion a years for the last three years (IDA,
2010). IDA credits help the poorest countries to develop the human capital, bring policy reforms,
strengthen institutions, and build physical infrastructure to achieve faster and sustainable
economic growth to reduce inequalities and to improve living conditions of the people. IDA
provides loans for primary education, basic health services, clean water and sanitation,
environment and climate improvements, infrastructure development and institutional reforms.
IDA supports only basic education not secondary or higher education.
3) The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was established in 1956. It is the largest multilateral
financing source for private enterprise in developing countries. It provides various types of loans
without sovereign guarantees to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing
countries. Only IBRD members can make an entry into IFC, at present it comprises of 182
members, which collectively mange, operate and direct it function. It has given lending to a wide
range of private sector in more than hundred countries. In 1984, IFC became financially
independent as it had been permitted by the WBG to issue its own bonds in international capital
markets.
IFC provides not only financial assistance but technical assistance and advisory services also to
its clients. This organization coordinates its activities with other institutions of the WBG: IBRD,