The government has created the Nurturing Excellence in Higher Education Program in collaboration with the World Bank (NEHEP). The program has been given a budget of USD 60 million.
The five-year program aims to increase the quality and relevance of Nepal’s higher education to the labor market, provide access to academic institutions for poor and vulnerable students from disadvantaged areas, and scale up joint research and online learning.
Through the expansion of online platforms and blended learning throughout all Nepalese universities, the program is projected to build on the success of previous higher education projects.
The NEHEP, according to Bhim Prasad Subedi, chairperson of the University Grants Commission under the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, will help increase participation, quality, and relevance of higher education programs by leveraging the benefits of the knowledge economy and information era.
Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, said the program will help Nepal recover from the COVID-19 by increasing access to quality higher education and skills that are in demand in the labor market for students, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.