New World Bank Supported Project Will Improve the Quality of Thousands of Students in Cambodia

WASHINGTON, September 23, 2024 - The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved $80 million in financing today to support Cambodia's efforts to improve the quality of higher education and research, mainly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Funding for the project comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional lending arm for low-income countries.

This six-year project will support the efforts of nine public institutions of higher education to develop well-qualified graduates and research products that contribute to the country's economic development. Some 32,000 students-including about 13,000 women-will benefit from its activities, which will include updating curricula, training lecturers, and digitizing the delivery of education.

The project places strong emphasis on improving the quality of learning for female students and students with disabilities and on supporting female faculty members. It adopts climate-resilient infrastructure design standards and prioritizes climate change-related research projects.

"To complement investments in health and basic education, which are the foundations for a productive workforce, strengthening high-quality higher education and preparing a critical mass of highly skilled graduates will help Cambodia advance its human capital and promote inclusive growth and development," said Tania Meyer, World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia.

Although access to higher education has gradually increased, improvements in the quality and relevance of education and research are essential for building Cambodia's capacity to meet the evolving needs of the labor market in a rapidly changing environment. This project will build on the successes of and lessons learned from an ongoing project that has enhanced learning opportunities for over 128,000 higher education students in Cambodia-over half of them women-by establishing 67 academic programs, funding 53 research projects, and establishing or renovating147 laboratories.