At the end of 2024, 20,000 scholarships were announced for the Beca 18 2026 contest. But, by the end of 2025, the Minedu recognized that the budget approved for the program was only S/50 million, a figure that is below the amount needed to fulfill the 20,000 promised scholarships, in addition to the budget required for the continuity of the current scholarship recipients. Only 5,184 scholarships were awarded. How many future doctors, lawyers or engineers were left out due to lack of budget?
Articles 13 and 17 of the Constitution recognize access to education and emphasize the State’s duty to guarantee it through scholarships. Have they fulfilled their function adequately? Thousands of young people who met the requirements and made an effort to excel in an exam have received a “not selected” response. Has Peru become a country where dreams do not come true?
It is important to emphasize that these young people do not enjoy a high economy; This prevents them from affording a pre-university academy or entering a private university, so winning a scholarship represents their only opportunity to continue their studies.
Given the uncertainty about the future of these young people, it is important to pay more attention to education in Peru, have planning aligned with the available budget and reinforce educational quality in teaching and infrastructure that guarantee adequate training, because it is from those classrooms where new leaders emerge who will lead the country.
