Kathmandu, February 23:

The World Bank (WB) yesterday approved a $60 million grant for the second Higher Education Project that was presented along with the discussion on the the interim strategy for Nepal at the Bank’s board meeting in Washington on February 22, states a press release issued by the WB office here today.

The project that will begin in March, is designed to enhance quality and relevance of higher education and research. The foremost aim of the project is to decentralise higher education to campus level and make them accountable to stakeholders, Rajendra Joshi, senior education specialist, World Bank in Nepal had pointed out before leaving for Washington for Thursday’s presentation. The second component of the project, according to Joshi, is to provide financial assistance to students from poor households, especially girls, dalits and educationally disadvantaged janajati. The third objective is to support the expansion of higher secondary education in Nepal.

This grant, for a period of five years, comes from the International Development Association, the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm. Meanwhile, the crucial meeting on the interim strategy for Nepal ended on a positive note. Although no rehabilitation package was announced as expected, the bank confirmed its commitment to invest $200 million, pointed out WB spokesperson Rajiv Upadhyaya. The Interim Strategy Note discussed by the Bank’s Board of executive directors reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to support Nepal in its transition to peace but observed that the road ahead was not without serious pitfalls. “In the short run, the political situation will remain fluid and potentially unstable until successful constituent assembly elections are held and all sides accept the results,” the press release states.

“The Bank’s executive directors are very supportive of Nepal’s peace pro-cess and are encouraged by the prog-ress made so far. But even in the best scenario, there is considerable risk that Nepal’s leadership will be pre-occupied with the political agenda. Ignoring the development agenda could prove damaging not only for the long term needs of the country but even for the near term goal of achieving lasting peace,” the press note quotes Kenichi Ohashi, WB country director for Nepal.

In general, the Bank’s strategy over the next 12 to 18 months will focus on protecting the past reform gains and helping the government prepare for important post-conflict work. While there had been no new projects last year, this year the WB had already committed about $100 million towards new projects, towards Poverty Alleviation Fund and Avian Influenza in particular.