In order to enhance the financial sustainability of the BECAL Program, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Development Finance Agency signed a cooperation agreement to allocate resources for the creation and administration of a Guarantee Fund for postgraduate studies abroad (FOGAE).
These resources amount to USD 3,600,000, disbursed to the AFD through the new phase of BECAL, whose objective is to promote the offer of credit for postgraduate studies abroad.
This instrument seeks to reduce the public financing effort and increase private participation, ensuring that workers and companies increasingly internalise the costs of postgraduate training.
BECAL’s FOGAE financing for private sector professionals
The MEF reports that funding for scholarships for master’s degrees and specialisations for professionals in the private sector will be 70%. FOGAE will allow those selected by BECAL to access complementary resources to cover the 30%.
It will also enable anyone interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree abroad and who is accepted by one of the world’s top 300 universities to access guaranteed loans to cover their studies.
FOGAE resources will allow financing for individuals, self-employed workers, dependent and independent professionals to cover needs inherent to higher education programs abroad such as specialisations, Masters, Doctorates and Postdoctorates, among others.
Funds may be used to pay tuition, fees, or other administrative fees of the academic institution where the studies will be taken; purchase of tickets to the destination where the study program will be taken and back to Paraguay.
Also, contracting medical, life or other insurance; purchase of textbooks, academic materials necessary for performance during the course; rent and maintenance during the stay abroad and costs associated with the process of final works, obtaining the degree, graduation and/or respective professional registration.
Requirements for BECAL’s FOGAE program
To qualify for a loan guaranteed by FOGAE, beneficiaries must be Paraguayan or naturalised and in full enjoyment of all citizenship rights, have a degree and certificate of studies recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science; present a letter of acceptance to a graduate program at a university of excellence (among the best 300, according to international rankings) and work experience of at least two years.
Since its creation, the Carlos Antonio López National Scholarship Program has contributed to reducing inequalities in access to training opportunities, considering socioeconomic level, gender and productive sector.
65% of the scholarship recipients come from public and subsidised schools, of which more than 50% of both parents do not have a university education. In addition, more than 30% of the scholarship recipients are from the interior of the country and more than 60% are women.
