Health · Public Health & Disease · 2 hrs ago
UNESCO links end of Prospera to lower boys’ high-school enrollment
A UNESCO report estimates boys’ high-school enrollment fell by 12 percentage points in places where the earlier Prospera program had high coverage.
The finding concerns Mexico and followed the 2019 replacement of Prospera with Benito Juárez scholarships.
Prospera made cash support conditional, while the replacement scholarships are unconditional.
Earlier evaluations of Prospera found improvements in school attendance and grade progression, as well as later benefits in education, work and economic mobility.
A comparison of 2026 scholarships with inflation-adjusted Prospera payments found that current high-school grants are 25.8% to 42.1% lower in real terms, depending on students’ grade and sex.
The current programs reach more students but do not target support based on family income, unlike Prospera, which focused on the poorest 20% of the population.
The materials describe the enrollment estimate and payment differences but do not say what policy changes, if any, will follow.
UNESCO said ending Prospera and replacing it with Benito Juárez scholarships was linked to a 12-percentage-point fall in high-school enrollment among boys in areas where the former program had high coverage.
The finding appears in UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report and draws on research into Prospera’s withdrawal in 2019.
A comparison cited by El Universal found that current high-school scholarships are 25.8% to 42.1% lower in real terms than Prospera’s 2018 support, depending on grade and student sex.
The comparison says Benito Juárez provides 9,500 pesos a year per high-school student.
Former education official Carlos Mancera said Prospera focused support on families with the lowest incomes, while the current scheme covers a wider group.
- Who
- UNESCO reported the enrollment finding; the programs affected students, including boys of high-school age.
- What
- UNESCO linked the replacement of Prospera with Benito Juárez scholarships to a 12-percentage-point decline in boys’ high-school enrollment in areas with high Prospera coverage.
- When
- Prospera was withdrawn in 2019; the finding was reported in UNESCO’s 2026 report.
- Where
- Localities with high coverage of Prospera in Mexico.
- Why
- The report attributed the decline to the shift from a conditional payment to an unconditional one.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Prospera was withdrawn.
UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report reported an estimated 12-percentage-point fall in boys’ high-school enrollment associated with the transition to unconditional payments.
- Enrollment change
- 12 percentage points lower for boys
- Former program
- Prospera
- Replacement scholarship
- Benito Juárez
- Annual high-school scholarship
- 9,500 pesos per student
- Report
- UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2026
1 source
What people are saying
Enrollment of boys in upper-secondary education is estimated to have declined by 12 percentage points as a result of the transition from a conditional to an unconditional payment
Prospera gave scholarships to 20% of the poorest population, and they knew who the poorest were because they had a very rigorous census