Transforming higher education in developing countries: the role of the World Bank

The World Bank has actively supported tertiary education reform efforts in a number of countries. Nevertheless, there is a perception that the Bank has not been fully responsive to the growing demand by clients for tertiary education interventions and that, especially in the poorest countries, lending for the subsector has not matched the importance of tertiary education systems for economic and social development. Given these perceptions, the rapid changes taking place in the global environment, and the persistence of the traditions problems of tertiary education in developing and transition countries, reexamining the World Bank's policies and experiences in tertiary education has become a matter of urgency