October 28: The Government of Nepal has jointly launched the Nurturing Excellence in Higher Education Program (NEHEP) in collaboration with the World Bank.

Issuing a recent statement, the World Bank said that the programme was jointly launched on October 26 by the University Grants Commission under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the World Bank.

According to the statement, the five-year program aims to improve the quality and labor market relevance of Nepal’s higher education, scale up collaborative research and online learning, and expand access to academic institutions for underprivileged and vulnerable students from disadvantages areas.

“Investing in human capital from early childhood to higher education is key to helping young people in Nepal realize their development potential,” the statement quoted Education Secretary Ram Prasad Thapaliya as saying. “This program will help strengthen the higher education sector in collaboration with industries and ensure students across Nepal including those from disadvantaged groups have access to quality higher education.”

The Nurturing Excellence in Higher Education Program builds on the success of earlier higher education projects in Nepal to align its higher education sector with labor market needs, boost collaborative research and entrepreneurship, improve governance, and enhance access to quality higher education in general and especially for disadvantaged students. The COVID-19 pandemic has created strong incentives to expand online platforms and blended learning, which the program will help scale up across all universities in Nepal, the World Bank said.

The program will also expand targeted scholarships to disadvantaged students to pursue labor market-driven academic programs and support equity grants to higher education institutions in needy and disaster-affected areas in Nepal.

“By improving access of students, especially those from disadvantaged communities, to quality higher education and skills that are in demand in the labor market, this program will support Nepal’s COVID-19 recovery,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank's country director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. “This is critical as the country forges efforts towards green, resilient, and inclusive development, which the World Bank is committed to support.”