The National Director of the National Board of School Aid and Scholarships (Junaeb), Camila Rubio Araya, kicked off the school year in the O’Higgins region, specifically in an act held in Machalí. The Socioeconomist from the University of Valparaíso and Master in Government and Public Management from the University of Chile, in an interview with the newspaper El Rancagüino spoke of the work they are doing to improve the nutrition of the country’s students, and the other challenges presented by the institution for this 2023.
Junaeb is a public institution in Chile in charge of executing State social policies, whose objective is to improve the quality of life of students and promote equal opportunities. Junaeb has a variety of programs and services for students of basic, middle and higher education.
Some of Junaeb’s main programs are:
School Feeding: This program seeks to provide food to the most vulnerable students of subsidized municipal and private educational establishments.
Higher Education Scholarships: These scholarships are awarded to low-income students who wish to continue their studies in higher education, and cover expenses such as tuition, fees, and maintenance.
Oral Health Program: This program provides free dental care to elementary and middle school students, with the aim of promoting good oral health and preventing dental diseases.
National Student Card (TNE): The TNE is a card that allows access to discounts on public transport for higher education students.
Recreational activities: Junaeb also organizes recreational and cultural activities for students, with the aim of promoting their comprehensive development and emotional well-being.
In this context, the director explained that there are 39 programs in total, but the feeding one is one of the most important “today we were supervising, we have worked hard so that the gardens were supplied from the first day, and the boys and girls they had their food. We have great challenges, where we must promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables, where we have to work with the family and the community so that students have a balanced, nutritious diet that includes all the products, not just what they like. like it,” said the director.
He also announced that the institution is currently in charge of the National Student Card, called TNE, “Today we are in the process of taking a picture of the TNE, in March we are working with students who go from fourth grade to higher education , from eighth grade to first grade and those who take the basic grade for the first time, it is important to remember that the TNE works 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
Camila Rubio, announced that the third week of March will begin with the delivery of supplies and in May or June will begin the distribution of computers for seventh grade students. “They are delivered on this date since the computers must have certain specific conditions such as programs required by the Ministry of Education. These devices are free and for the students who accompany them throughout their educational career.
MEDICAL AND FOOD PROGRAMS
With respect to the problems that were revealed last year regarding the execution of some of the medical programs and the lack of resources and personnel, the director of Junaeb explained that “we had a difficulty that the programs were late, also how they were Intervention programs in schools during the pandemic, since they were not carried out in those years because the schools were not open, generated a great delay in consultations and they accumulated a lot. Now what we are doing is bidding, but one of the difficulties we sometimes have is finding medical professionals in the regions who want to be part of this program. States making price comparisons so that this work is more attractive and that specialists can apply for the program that has a great impact on the student population, such as ophthalmology, oral health, and spinal screening, since a child is not the same whether or not I can see the letters on the board to be able to study”.
The director of the Junaeb spoke about the Food Scholarship, where she stressed that in order to obtain the benefit, higher education students should not apply “you do not apply, nor do you do any paperwork, this is automatic when students have a free benefit or scholarship that generates a tariff benefit, there they are assigned immediately. This is important support that rose to 32,000 pesos in March, then it rose to 37,000, then it will go to 40,000 and in July it will reach 42,000 pesos.”
These resources are delivered so that students can use them for food in various places such as buying in supermarkets, affiliated restaurants. “The resources begin to be transferred on March 9 to a group of students, which depends on when they enrolled. Those who enrolled in January will receive it now and later those who are missing according to the time that the universities report the enrollment of the students. This process in April is completely regularized”, explained the national director of Junaeb.
