The World Bank (WB) announced that it would support the higher education sector in Iraq with an amount of $5 million.
A statement by the WB, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that “the World Bank has agreed to support the higher education sector in Iraq with an amount of 5 million US dollars”, which is its first investment in this vital sector.”
The bank noted that “support for the higher education project aims to link it will further contribute to the development of the country, along with efforts to address climate change and improve the work skills of graduates.”
Saroj Kumar Jha, Regional Director of the Mashreq Department at the WB, said, “the new project will help Iraq to link its educational institutions, especially at the higher education level, with those sectors that will allow sustainable economic growth in the long term.”
He said that to achieve these goals, there is an urgent need for a set of reforms and innovations to improve the quality of education and its relevance to the needs of the labor market.
He remarked: “this project will support the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.”
WB will also help to develop centers of excellence in two priority sectors, namely agriculture and renewable energy.
He explained, “During the implementation of this project, the World Bank will also provide technical assistance to support the government’s reform agenda in a number of areas.”
The areas cover quality assurance, financing, surveys of university graduate labor markets, and data improvement, he added.