Bono Juancito Pinto
Bono Juancito Pinto is Bolivia's national school-attendance cash transfer, paying an annual Bs 200 (about US$29) grant to students in public (fiscal) and agreement-based (convenio) primary, secondary, and special-education schools to encourage enrollment, attendance, and completion, and reduce dropout. It was created by presidential decree in October 2006 under President Evo Morales and is funded by revenue from the nationalization of Bolivia's hydrocarbons industry (the Direct Tax on Hydrocarbons, IDH). The Ministry of Education administers the program and pays out the grant once a year in cash through Banco Unión and partner financial entities, with mobile brigades reaching remote rural communities. As of 2025 it reaches more than 2.3 million students nationwide, making it one of the largest conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America relative to national population.
Conditional Cash Transfer, School Attendance Incentive, Hydrocarbons Revenue Funded, National Program, Special Education Included, Rural/Remote Distribution, Bolivia
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Ministerio de Educación del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (Ministry of Education of the Plurinational State of Bolivia)
- City
- La Paz
- State / Province
- La Paz
- Country
- Bolivia
Contact
- Website
- https://www.minedu.gob.bo/
- Phone
- +591 2 2442144
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 2,324,149
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Total Amount
- 200
- Avg. Per Month
- 16.67
- Payment frequency
- Lump Sum
- How long the program lasts
- 12 months
- Distribution Type
- Cash, Debit Card
- Benefit details
The grant is a single annual payment of Bs 200 per eligible student, disbursed once per school year (recent cycles run roughly October through early December). Payment is made in urban areas through Banco Unión and dozens of partner banks/cooperatives/financial institutions upon presentation of ID, and in remote or hard-to-reach rural communities through mobile payment brigades (historically supported by the armed forces). In some years the funds have been loaded onto a Banco Unión debit card rather than paid purely in cash. To collect, the designated recipient (student, or parent/guardian for younger children) presents their identity card (cédula de identidad) or birth certificate plus a simple photocopy of the parent/guardian's ID at an authorized payment point.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible are children and youth enrolled in Bolivian public (fiscal) or state-agreement (convenio) primary and secondary schools, as well as students of any age enrolled in Special Education Centers (no age or grade limit for this group). To qualify for a given year's payment, a student generally must have at least 80% attendance during the school year and not have failed any subject with a zero grade, and be registered in the Ministry's Bono Juancito Pinto information system (SIBJP). Private-school students are not eligible. The program was originally limited to 1st–5th grade (2006) then expanded to 1st–8th grade of primary (2008) and has since been broadened further to cover the full primary and secondary cycle plus special education.
Demographics
- Education level
- Elementary, Middle School, High School
Health
- Disability status
- Yes
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Bolivia
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
There is no separate individual application process. A student becomes eligible automatically by being enrolled in a public (fiscal) or convenio school, or a Special Education Center, and having that enrollment recorded in the Ministry of Education's school information system for the year. To collect the annual payment, the student (or the parent/guardian for younger children) presents their identity card or birth certificate, plus a simple photocopy of the parent/guardian's ID, at an authorized bank, cooperative, or mobile payment brigade during the announced annual payment window.
- Selection process
The Ministry of Education, using enrollment and attendance records reported by schools through its educational information system, determines which enrolled students meet the year's conditions (minimum 80% attendance and no failing/zero grades) and are therefore listed as eligible to collect that year's Bs 200 payment; there is no discretionary or competitive selection beyond meeting these enrollment and attendance criteria.
