World Bank rates $400m education project as satisfactory

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has rated the implementation progress of the “Higher Education Development in Pakistan project,” of around $400 million as satisfactory.

The project was approved in May 2019 with the development objective of supporting research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improving teaching and learning and strengthening governance, in the higher education sector.

The current disbursement stands at 78.5 per cent i.e. $329.93 million out of $400 million, while the closing date of the project is 30 June 2025.

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The bank has rated the progress towards achievement of Project Development Objective of “Higher Education Development in Pakistan” project, moderately satisfactory.

The components of the project include; nurturing academic excellence in strategic sectors ($102.820 million), supporting decentralised higher education institutes for improved teaching and learning ($89.180 million), equipping students and higher education institutions with modern technology ($70 million), higher education management information system and data-driven services ($35 million), capacity building, project management, monitoring and evaluation ($11 million) and improving access and quality of remote learning and support to universities ($92 million).

Officials documents revealed that the project has made good progress toward achievement of its project development objective.

Key progress include: (i) 31 competitive research grants awarded in Year 2 achieved 80 per cent of their outcome target; (ii) the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and regional National Academy for Higher Education (NAHE) centers conducted a needs assessment in Sindh and Punjab covering 52 public universities; (iii) twelve additional Affiliating Universities (AUs) have functional Quality Enhancement Cells in Affiliated Colleges (QECACs); (iv) NAHE regional centers held three outreach events, and (v) the Open Distance Learning Policy was approved.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

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