A total of $304,500 was incorporated into the institutional budget of the Education branch in order to guarantee the payment of the salary of the personnel in charge of the scholarships of the Special Fund of the Resources Coming from the Privatization of the National Telecommunications Administration (Fantel).
In the opinion that was read to the full legislature, it was detailed that the organizational unit within the branch of Education, Science, and Technology is made up of 18 people, who are in charge of the operation of higher education scholarships.
With the incorporation of the resources, their work continuity will be guaranteed and, consequently, the development and implementation of the Fantel scholarships for higher education.
The operation of the program was assigned until 2018 to the administrative council, but this was dissolved and became an attribution of the Ministry of Education, from where the organizational unit was created.
The Congresspeople from Nuevas Ideas clarified that the funds do not go to the funding source of the scholarship program but will guarantee its continuity since the staff will have job stability.
The Fantel scholarship program began in 1999, when Antel’s privatization process was completed, and its main focus is to ensure that outstanding high school students have an opportunity for higher education.