Asunción, Agencia IP.- Nine out of ten scholars of the National Postgraduate Scholarship Program Abroad “Don Carlos Antonio López” (BECAL, by its acronym in Spanish), that have returned to the country, successfully reintegrated in less than six months into their specialization field, informed the Ministry of Economics and Finances (MEF, by its acronym in Spanish).
The result mentions that 89% of the scholars who have returned to the country after finishing their graduate studies abroad are working. At the end of this year’s first semester, 1,304 scholarship recipients have already returned to Paraguay after completing their studies in the best academic centres in the world.
Of the 89% of scholarship recipients who claimed to be working, 58% are in the public sector, among teachers, directors, supervisors and workers from the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC, by its acronym in Spanish).
Meanwhile, 35% of the returned scholars work in the private sector. According to the distribution, 3% are working in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), 2% in Organizations of International Cooperation, and 1% are in both sectors (public and private).
The data collected through the former students in the form of declaration of return reveal that during the period of 0 to 5 years after returning to the country, 80% work in an area linked to their study program.
In most cases, the time of work reinsertion is relatively short for the ones who already had work experience before receiving a scholarship from the Program.
The ones who studied fields related to Science, Technology and Innovation affirmed that they started working less than six months after their return. At the same time, in areas of education, they did it only one month after their return.
It is also worth highlighting that the scholars who benefited from the programme but chose to stay in the countries where they studied must return the total of the investment by the government on their education abroad, according to current legal regulations.
BECAL aims to improve the levels of generation and enforcement of knowledge in science, technology and education by improving the supply of advanced human capital in Paraguay. It aims to strengthen research, innovation and education through scholarships for postgraduate studies abroad.