More than 1,200 Peruvians from Indigenous communities receive higher-education scholarships

A total of 1,289 young people from Peru’s Indigenous, rural and Afro-Peruvian communities won scholarships to pursue technical or university studies this year, according to the National Scholarship and Educational Credit Program, known as Pronabec.

The beneficiaries include 651 young people from peasant communities, 469 from Amazonian Indigenous communities and 169 from the Afro-Peruvian population, all groups recognized by Peru’s Ministry of Culture. The winners were selected from 6,419 Beca 18 recipients.

Beca 18 offers 10 application categories reserved for vulnerable populations. Its Intercultural Bilingual Education category, aimed at applicants who speak an eligible Indigenous language, selected 71 winners. Pronabec said belonging to an Indigenous community or speaking an Indigenous language gives applicants additional points.

Lima and Callao accounted for 35% of the winners. The central Andean regions accounted for 25%, the south for 19%, the north for 10% and the eastern Amazon for 10%.

Some 89% of the scholarship recipients live in households classified as poor or extremely poor. Another 77% chose to continue their higher education in an institution located in their home region.