In 18 days the deadline for the Ministry of Finance is fulfilled to deposit Q50 million to the national mortgage credit (CHN) for English scholarships oriented to technical-labor training, in charge of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). However, the government agreement that supports the transfer is still in process. The deadline is March 31.
While the agreement is expected, the number of beneficiaries is not yet defined. For now, It is estimated at 4,580, and the delivery of 17,700 scholarships is expected. These figures may vary according to the negotiation that the Mineduc performs with the Technical Institute of Training and Productivity (Intecap), responsible for imparting the courses.
What is defined is that 60 % of the scholarships will go to the advanced level of English, with courses of 4 and 8 hours, and 40 %, at the initial level. This was indicated by Carlos Aldana, Vice Minister of Extracurricular and Alternative Education, dependence responsible for the Work Technical Training Scholarship Program in English and the Scholarship Fund for Technical Labor Training in English (PROBEFI), in accordance with article 114 of Decree 36-2024, General Budget Law 2025.
With the days counted
Article 114 establishes that March 31 is the last day for the Executive to transfer to CHN the Q50 million destined to finance and execute the activities of the scholarship program.
However, this transfer depends on the issuance of a government agreement, which has not yet occurred. According to vice minister Aldana, The Attorney General’s Office (PGN) has already delivered the document to the MINEDUC, that must raise it to the presidency for publication. This step depends on the creation of the Ministerial Agreement, the inter -institutional agreements, the regulations, the instructions and the manuals, among other requirements, so that the scholarships are a reality.
The Vice Minister indicated that these legal instruments have worked in parallel with the Finance Commission of the Congress of the Republic, so, once the government agreement would be published, they would already have an advanced way to comply with the term established in article 114.
However, for Ligia Chinchilla, coordinator of the Human Capital Table of Guatemala does not stop, even if the instruments are ready, if the government agreement is not available, the Ministry of Finance may not transfer the money to the CHN to start the scholarship fund, which would imply a breach of the deadline established in the law.
For his part, Deputy Julio Héctor Estrada, president of the Finance Commission of the Congress, said that the legal and bureaucratic process to launch the program advances as planned and that the deadlines could be fulfilled. However, your concern lies in QThe call is launched and that the beneficiaries begin to receive classes as soon as possible.
“The objective of the fund is to train people for work, and that is why we are interested that people pass from a basic level from English to an intermediate one. Otherwise, it will have been implementing the employment strategy for more years, ”says Chinchilla.
The PROBEEFI, according to Decree 36-2024, will facilitate technical-labor training in English through a stipend for class assistance, as well as educational and technological resources-electronic devices, Internet service, telephone payment or data-, training courses and teaching materials that allow beneficiaries to improve their level in the language. In addition, it will work with flexible modalities that adapt to the needs of the fellows and the labor demand.
Scope
Aldana mentions that scholarships are aimed at learning English with technical-labor orientation and They will be distributed in all regions. The call for interested parties to run will be done in the last week of March, with the aim of starting in April with the students of the first cohort.
Chinchilla has previously pointed out that the program will benefit people who seek to integrate into the bilingual square market this year. The courses could be taught intensively in three cycles, with a duration of nine months and eight hours per week, in face -to -face mode. Another option would be a 12-month program with hybrid (virtual-repeat) mode and four class hours per week.
Last year, in different programs, 9,599 English scholarships were awarded, and in 2023 there were 16 thousand 175, with varied amounts.