Washington, 23 September 1996 (RFE/RL) -- The World Bank has approved a $50 million loan to Romania to finance reform of the country's higher education system and improvements in the quality of programs and instructors.
The loan also will promote better access to higher education for talented but needy students.
The total project will cost around $84 million, with the bank providing 60 percent of the costs and the European Union (EU) co-financing the rest with the government of Romania.
The program includes more than $42 million to develop advanced courses of instruction and research needed to prepare academic staff and professionals to teach post-graduate courses to prepare students to compete in the global market economy.
Another nearly $28 million will support new program development for undergraduates and continuing education, with an additional $14 million used to improve the performance of semi-autonomous councils as part of the reform strategy to replace centralized control by the Ministry of Education.