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

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agencies, four Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), five sub-regional banks and seven
Multilateral Financial Institutions (MFIs). Apart from IGOs, the Bank has working ties with
many civil society organizations (CSOs) in many countries. These bodies have become a key
partner of the World Bank in the process of socio-economic development. Thus CSOs with the
World Bank‟s financial and technical assistance are playing a significant role in policy reforms,
human capital development, socio-economic development and education sector in more than 60
countries. The World Bank through CSOs is engaged in many multilateral international projects.
Some of are: Education for All goals (EFA), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
Country Assistance Strategies (CASs), Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSPs) environment
protection programs etc.
The Bank‟s lending policies on education have passed through many changes and reforms since
its inception; 1963, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2000. The Bank has realized very lately the
importance of investment in higher education in the low and lower middle income countries. In
field of higher education the Bank supports vision development, strategic planning and
consensus building, finance reforms, governance and management reforms, quality
improvement, institutional diversification, science and technology development. The Bank also
provides assistance in the strategy development; capacity enhancement for monitoring and
evaluation; reform of resource management; essential level of funding; research and technology
development; and quality assurance. The World Bank Institute (WBI) also plays an important
role through capacity development programs that comprises technical assistance, thematic
learning programs, cabinet-level retreats, and other leadership development programs.
In education sector the World Bank has invested US$ 69 billion in more than 1,500 projects
majority of them are in Asian countries. The Bank‟s average loans per year for education that
was once less than 1%, today it is more than 8% of the total lending. During the first decade of
the 21st century the average lending was approximately one billion per year. Since 1963 the
World Bank has made the largest investment in Asian higher education: an amount of $US 13.4
billion in 187 higher education projects, or projects with higher education components in 27
countries. To meet the increased demand of assistance for higher education the Bank has
launched Education Strategy 2020 in spring 2011 that focuses on an investment which is early,
smart and for all.