Uruguay launches early campaign to re-enroll 5,400 students at risk of losing benefits

Uruguay's National Public Education Administration (ANEP) is launching its "Volver a los sueños" (Return to Dreams) educational re-enrollment campaign a month earlier than usual, aiming to reach about 5,400 children and adolescents who are not registered in any educational institution.

The early intervention is crucial because these young people risk losing their family allowance, a monthly payment of approximately $2,576, if they do not regularize their educational status. Uruguayan law requires consistent school attendance to receive this benefit, with two annual checks. Those not enrolled are suspended in July, and those with poor attendance are suspended in November.

"An extra month or so in an educational institution can change a child's life. For the state to make the effort to reach them a month earlier is key," said Pablo Caggiani, president of ANEP, during the campaign's presentation. The government highlighted that this plan has already proven more effective than previous strategies in reintegrating young people into the education system.

ANEP is collaborating with several public bodies, including the Ministries of Social Development, Interior, and Education and Culture, as well as the National Institute for Children and Adolescents (INAU), the Institute for Adolescent Social Inclusion (Inisa), the Social Security Bank (BPS), and the National Organization for Children's Football (ONFI). Last year, similar efforts identified 5,382 unregistered youth, successfully re-enrolling 2,246 while suspending benefits for 3,136. Officials celebrated the higher reintegration rate, noting that previous efforts only managed to re-enroll about 300.

This year's campaign includes improved data quality, such as cross-referencing with migration data, and a new form to gather more detailed information on the reasons for students' disengagement. The conditionality of receiving family allowances based on school attendance has been a sensitive issue, originating from a decree by former President Tabaré Vázquez.

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An extra month or so in an educational institution can change a child's life. For the state to make the effort to reach them a month earlier is key.