- Guatemalans aged 11-24 in educación media (básico or diversificado)
- At a public or MINEDUC-authorized private school
- In poverty or extreme poverty
- Not already on another State scholarship of the same kind
The State’s poverty-based scholarship for secondary students in Guatemala is the Beca Social Educación Media, run by the Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (MIDES) — not by MINEDUC. It is a conditional cash transfer for students aged 11 to 24 at the educación media level (básico and diversificado).
Quick summary: MIDES Beca Social Educación Media. Guatemalans 11-24 in poverty or extreme poverty, studying educación media at a public or MINEDUC-authorized private school. Keep it with 80% attendance and by passing the year. The 2026 call closed 13 March 2026. MIDES publishes no amount on its program page.
Correction (24 September 2026): this page previously described a MINEDUC program called “BANEDUC” paying Q3,500 a year for básico and Q5,000 for diversificado. We could find no such program and no source for those amounts; the page now describes MIDES’s Beca Social Educación Media from MIDES’s own program page. See our corrections policy.
What MIDES publishes about the program
From MIDES’s Programa Beca Social page (read 24 September 2026):
| Item | What MIDES says |
|---|---|
| Program | Beca Social Educación Media, an intervention of Mi Beca Social |
| Type | Conditional cash transfers (Transferencias Monetarias Condicionadas) |
| Who | Guatemalans aged 11 to 24, in poverty or extreme poverty, urban or rural |
| Level | Educación media, at public or private schools authorized by MINEDUC |
| Exclusion | Not already receiving another State scholarship or social program of the same kind |
| Coverage | All departments |
Co-responsibilities (what you must keep doing)
- At least 80% attendance at school during the school year
- Pass the school year while in the program
- Hand in all required documents within the program’s deadline
- Update your data at least once a year
The 2026 call (AGN, 3 March 2026) also listed a photocopy of the certificate of the last grade passed and proof of enrolment in educación media, and said the transfer is meant for costs such as transport, enrolment or school supplies.
How to apply
- Watch for the call. In 2026 it opened in early March and closed on 13 March (AGN, 3 March 2026).
- Go to your MIDES departmental delegation, which gives guidance on the application.
- Bring the student’s certificate of the last grade passed (photocopy) and proof of enrolment in educación media, plus whatever the delegation asks for.
MIDES runs other Beca Social interventions too: Educación Superior (ages 16-28, university), Primer Empleo (apprenticeships) and Artesano (training).
Related procedures
- MINEDUC Hub — Education Procedures — all Ministry of Education procedures
- MINEDUC Public School Enrollment — free enrollment
- MINEDUC Study Certification — the certificate of grades you may need
- MINEDUC Foreign Degree Recognition — Diaspora — for foreign degrees
- MINEDUC Night Shift Authorization — for working students
- Returning to Guatemala Checklist — for returning diaspora
- US-Born Kids — Returning to Guatemala — diaspora kids guide