A classroom in Boquete, Panama, photographed in November 2018. Archival education illustration for IFARHU coverage; no PUNCH card distribution is shown. Credit: FranHogan (Fran Hogan) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo source.
Parents and guardians of students who missed earlier PUNCH card distributions can collect their cards at participating Caja de Ahorros branches under arrangements that began October 27, according to reports from TVN and Telemetro.
The cards provide access to student benefits administered by IFARHU, Panama's public scholarship and education-assistance agency. The latest collection opportunity includes PASE-U beneficiaries who did not receive their cards during previously scheduled distributions.
Telemetro reported that participating branches would handle collections during normal business hours. The arrangement also covers beneficiaries in Bocas del Toro who missed their earlier dates.
Where IFARHU PUNCH cards can be collected
Five branches were excluded from the announced collection arrangements: Penonomé in Coclé; Santiago Centro and Soná in Veraguas; La Bolívar in Las Tablas, Los Santos; and Tolé in Chiriquí.
People assigned to those locations need to check the bank's official instructions for alternatives. The exclusion is specific to this card-collection process and should not be read as a statement that all banking services at those branches are closed.
TVN reported that the responsible parent or guardian should bring identification and that the balance should appear in the relevant application. The collection process is for the registered person responsible for the benefit; the reports do not establish a general authorization for someone else to collect on their behalf.
Different pending cases need different arrangements
In an October 20 coordination update, IFARHU and Caja de Ahorros identified several groups requiring follow-up, including people whose cards were lost during the earthquake or floods and beneficiaries whose details did not appear in the system.
That update also discussed other scholarship programs and new university beneficiaries without bank accounts. Those categories should not automatically be treated as covered by every instruction issued for PASE-U card collection.
Foreign guardians using passports were identified for separate attention. The October 27 branch notice is therefore not enough to establish the appointment arrangements for every beneficiary.
IFARHU said 430,988 cards had been delivered as of its October 20 update. That dated figure is not a current count of completed deliveries or of cards still awaiting collection.
The immediate practical change is the reopening of collection opportunities for people who missed earlier distributions. Branch availability and the beneficiary's particular situation still determine which instructions apply.