The National Program of Scholarships and Educational Credit (Pronabec) under the Ministry of Education announced on March 31 that a total of 1,554 students have been selected in the first phase of the Beca 18-2026 competition. These recipients will receive full state funding to pursue technical or university studies.
This announcement is significant as it represents the allocation of about 30 percent of the total 5,184 scholarships available in this year’s call. The scholarship aims to support high-achieving students from across Peru who have excelled academically and passed several stages in the selection process.
Minister of Education María Esther Cuadros said, “They come from 153 provinces, and have demonstrated high academic performance by passing different phases of the competition, such as the national exam, as well as gaining admission to high-demand careers and prestigious higher education institutions.”
According to Pronabec, recipients must confirm their acceptance through Sibec between April 1 and April 7 to access benefits including tuition fees, registration costs, admission expenses for public institutions if applicable, as well as non-academic support like food, housing, and local transportation. The Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco and Senati are among the institutions with most awardees. Of those selected, more than half are minors while a significant portion are aged between eighteen and twenty-two years old.
Eighty-two percent will study at institutions within their own regions—a figure that is twenty-eight percentage points higher than last year’s first phase—helping them remain close to their communities. Most winners come from Lima, Cusco, Ayacucho, Huánuco and Puno; seventy-five percent finished secondary school at public schools while five percent graduated from High Performance Schools. Twelve percent belong to rural communities; seven percent are from native Amazonian groups; three percent identify as Afro-Peruvian; twenty recipients have disabilities. Popular chosen fields include civil engineering, medicine, accounting and economics.
Candidates not selected in this phase may participate in a second round scheduled for April six through April twenty-seven.
