The Ministry of Finance has been working to provide predictability to the National Program of Postgraduate Scholarships Abroad “Don Carlos Antonio López” (BECAL, taking into account that the formation of advanced human capital is an investment, whose effective return is observed at medium and long term, stated the general coordinator of BECAL, Andrea Picasso.
That is why in 2020 the Executive Power, through the Treasury, presented a bill to the National Congress, which is currently being discussed, to obtain financing of USD 30 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that will help to strengthen BECAL, to continue providing full scholarships and also open the shared financing modality.
The treatment of the project was not given beforehand due to the health emergency situation that forced prioritizing the needs in the face of the pandemic, the BECAL coordinator mentioned. At the same time, he stressed that it aims to have alternative funds and to create other forms of financing, so as not to depend exclusively on the resources of the Fund for Excellence in Education and Research (FEEI), from royalties, taking into account that the country is on the verge of revising Itaipu’s Annex C and also the tariff adjustment.
At another point, Picasso highlighted that these shielded funds for education had very satisfactory results in all the projects, which is why today it is vital to achieve predictability in BECAL, but taking into account a probable scenario of change that would occur next year with the resources received. That is why it seeks to ensure the continuity of these opportunities for training advanced human capital and to strengthen this State policy, it is important that Congress ensure this source of financing.
During these 7 years, around 2,700 Paraguayans accessed these scholarships for academic excellence, of which around 1,200 received during the current government. These postgraduate scholarships, in their different modalities, allow professionals to specialize through master’s degrees, doctorates, postdoctorates; and also the complementary modalities that are international mobility of degree and languages.
Another very important aspect highlighted by the BECAL coordinator is that 90% of returnees in all modalities are working in the country, thus applying what they have learned in different work areas. BECAL today has almost 700 Paraguayans studying at the best universities in the world, as well as nearly 300 scholarship holders who are studying under different modalities in the country, including language leveling.
On the other hand, the coordinator of BECAL highlighted the reversal of the Program’s statistics in terms of the socioeconomic level of the scholarship recipients. Currently, more than half of the scholarship recipients come from public schools and a significant percentage of both their parents do not have a university education.
Finally, he said that more and more Paraguayans from all over the national territory have access to better positioned universities worldwide. Along these lines, he also highlighted the cycle of informative talks initiated by BECAL to reach all young people in the country.
