Education in Peru faces serious structural challenges associated with infrastructure and equipment, teaching performance and access to quality higher education, among others. Fuerza Popular (FP), Together for Peru (JPP) and Renovación Popular (RP) recognize the urgency of reforms in the sector. However, their proposals omit budgetary restrictions and lack concrete execution strategies, in a context in which the high ministerial turnover in the sector has weakened the continuity of educational policies.
Infrastructure in critical condition
At the end of 2025, 27 thousand educational facilities (48% of the total) require total replacement as they represent a high risk of collapse for 1.2 million students. This problem is more serious in the poorest localities, where up to 60% of students are at risk, double that of the districts with greater resources. According to Minedu, the total infrastructure gap amounts to S/ 172 billion, 20 times the annual investment budget for 2026.
In this context, FP proposes the “Safe Schools” program to rebuild schools with damaged infrastructure and the creation of 3 thousand new schools. The latter is an inefficient measure that would disperse the sector’s already limited resources: less than 1% of school absenteeism is explained by the lack of an educational center nearby. For its part, JPP plans to reduce the gap by a fifth by 2031, raising investment to 6% of GDP. This goal is unattainable considering that the current level is only 0.8%; and, without adequate planning, it would require resources that would leave other urgent needs of the country without a budget or put pressure on fiscal sustainability. Finally, in the presidential debate, RP mentioned that private investment would be used to renovate schools. However, there was no further detail and his government plan does not include any formal strategy on the issue.
Unrestricted remuneration increases
Remuneration increases for teachers explain half of the increase in education spending between 2021 and 2025. In particular, their salaries grew 5.1% annually on average in that period, more than those of any other public official, putting pressure on the already weakened fiscal balance. However, these increases have not been linked to any improvement in learning: according to Minedu’s sample evaluations, in 2024, only three out of every ten fourth-grade students achieved satisfactory performance in mathematics or reading, without significant progress compared to previous years.
Despite this, FP, RP and JPP would not put any brakes on the growing expenditure on salaries and pensions. The most serious is JPP, which proposes appointing 90% of teachers and ensuring that none of them earn less than 1 UIT (S/ 5,500). Although FP and RP have not expressly promised to increase salaries, recently, together with JPP, they voted in favor of approving by insistence to increase the pensions of retired and laid-off teachers, which would have a permanent cost of at least S/ 8 billion annually, according to the Fiscal Council.
Inadequate equipment
Equipment in public schools is the main concern for families. According to the INEI, 22% of Peruvians think these are bad or very bad, more than the infrastructure (18%), the provision of materials (12%) or the quality of teaching (8%). Given this, FP proposes the acquisition of 6 million laptops or tablets. However, without an adequate maintenance plan, many will remain inoperative: according to the 2025 School Census, one in five computers or laptops in public schools does not work. JPP and RP have not included any proposals to improve equipment in schools in their government plans.
Higher education at risk
In 2024, three out of every 10 Peruvians had completed higher education (university, technical or postgraduate), an improvement compared to the early 2000s, when it barely exceeded 21%, according to the INEI. Despite this, in the last two decades, the proportion of university graduates working in occupations that do not require higher education has increased, especially among young people: in the 25 to 35 year old group, it rose from 46% in 2004 to 57% in 2024, while in the 35 to 45 year old group, from 42% to 51%. These results occur in a context of institutional weakening of Sunedu after the approval of Law No. 31520 in 2022, supported by FP, RP and the teaching bloc, which has promoted the creation of public universities. Despite the questions, the three political groups analyzed recently voted in favor of the creation of two public universities (in Loreto and Puno).
In this context, it is crucial to strengthen the quality of existing universities. In this regard, FP and JPP propose the implementation of a quality assurance system for higher education that monitors and evaluates educational institutions. Meanwhile, RP does not include any proposal on the subject. Likewise, only FP and JPP propose the creation of an entity that aligns the educational offer with the needs of the labor market. Currently there are tools such as Ponte en Carrera (2015) and Mi Carrera (2025), so the challenge lies in strengthening the articulated work between the MTPE and the Minedu to integrate and keep the information updated, among other pending tasks included in the National Qualifications Framework.
Scholarships and student support
Higher education offers significantly greater returns in terms of labor income, especially when you complete your studies. While completing high school increases labor income by around 13%, completing a university degree increases it by around 50%. In this context, scholarships have been a key instrument to expand access to this level of education. In 2025, Pronabec doubled the number of Beca 18 beneficiaries compared to 2024 (from 10 thousand to 20 thousand), which raised the total number of scholarships awarded to around 30 thousand, 1.6 times more than in 2024 and 2.5 times above the pre-pandemic level.
In this regard, the three parties propose expanding Beca 18 or creating new student support schemes. FP proposes doubling access to scholarships and credits, especially for vulnerable groups. JPP plans to reach 120 thousand beneficiaries of the 18 Scholarship by 2031, allocating additional resources to universities and institutes according to the number of scholarship recipients they receive, and creating the Second Chance Scholarship, aimed at young people between 22 and 29 years old, to promote their job placement. RP, for its part, proposed in the debate to create the Crédito 23 program for master’s degrees abroad and expand Beca 18 to 50 thousand beneficiaries using State savings as a source of financing. The granting of scholarships and student support to quality educational centers strengthens the formation of human capital. Its properly planned and executed provision must be preserved in the face of other measures of high fiscal cost and questionable impact.
Thus, the main challenges lie in closing gaps in infrastructure and equipment, improving the quality of service, strengthening teaching performance and ensuring adequate articulation between higher education and the labor market. Without strong leadership in the sector, high returns to education will remain an incomplete promise for millions of students.
Besides…
No more elusive years for education
Column – Carlos Gallardo Torres, general manager of the IPE _
The political crisis has deteriorated the institutions of the education sector. In the last five years he had 11 ministers and 19 if we consider the last decade. This dizzying count begins with the departure of Jaime Saavedra promoted by Congress in 2016. Then, in mid-2017, Pedro Castillo, who led the teaching march, was received by that same Congress, which accommodated his demands instead of defending the institutionality of the sector. That march would cost the head of a minister and the rest is history.
Years later, Castillo would return strengthened as a candidate and, being a teacher, achievements at least in that area would have been expected during his presidency. Unfortunately, there were no improvements in academic results or in teacher evaluations and their appointment based on merit. Nor in infrastructure and school equipment, which rather continued to deteriorate. Thus, it seems that the “teacher’s word” focused only on the increase in teachers’ salaries.
The next government has the important task of ensuring progress in these postponed aspects to ensure quality education. Let’s choose a candidate with a profile and with proposals more aligned with this great task.
