ABSTRACT
The World Bank, despite the complexity and diversity of much of its work, needs to be understood primarily as a bank. Its operations in such a sector as education cannot be understood otherwise. In other words, the Bank is not first and foremost a forum for the exchange or promotion of ideas about development, nor is it a traditional aid agency that dispenses aid in grant form. Accordingly, the Bank does not lend itself to comparisons with the general range of development assistance agencies. Neither is it typical of United Nations agencies, despite the often-neglected fact that it is a UN specialised agency. It is as a bank that the institution needs to be understood and assessed.
