Cuba: The Stubbornness - of
Returning to the Classroom
by Dixie Edith
Havana, September 1, 12:03am
(Prensa Latina)
More than 1,400,000 students of all schools return to the classrooms
in Cuba today, in the midst of a harsh national situation aggravated
by the blockade and the suffocation measures imposed by the US.
photo: Cuba Newsroom
It is not a simple number. Behind each student who returns to class
there is a family - that has had to adjust routines and resources. In
front of each classroom that opens its doors, there are teachers
who also experience blackouts and dissimilar shortages, but
they maneuver to arrive on time for their appointment with
the blackboard.
Flexibility, a reorganization of processes, adjustments to the specific
conditions of each community, empathy, and solidarity. These,
among other strategies, are key to achieving a 2026-2027
school year that, according to the Minister of Education,
Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, not only has greater
face-to-face attendance, but is sustainable until
its completion.
It is going to be --- a challenge, said Daynelys Castro, a teacher at the
Mariana Grajales Elementary School ----- in the capital municipality of
Diez de Octubre, with 20 years of accumulated teaching experience.
"I hope that my parents understand that with their support the
children can finish this course. It's going to be difficult, yes;
but with love and support - they will be able to overcome
the content of the degree and have better knowledge,"
he told Prensa Latina.
The Cuban budget for the Education sector in 2026 amounts
to 71,983 million pesos, a figure that represents 20 percent
of total State spending.
These resources are only surpassed by those of Public Health,
which this year has 76,756 million pesos. Between the two
sectors they add up to 41 percent, which makes it clear
that, despite the crisis, the government maintains the
protection of these social services as a priority.
EVERYDAY ADJUSTMENTS
On the other side of the equation, managing the start of classes for
families "requires a significant effort, both mental and economic,"
said sociologist Patricia Pérez, mother of two little girls.
"Since June -- we have been anticipating what the eldest, who starts
second grade, could need so as not to let everything accumulate at
the end of the holidays. As we also have another girl in the nursery
school, everything is double, although the little girl always inherits
things from her sister," she explained.
Pérez, along with other mothers and fathers, has also supported
the recovery of her daughter's classroom. "We know that help
is essential in this aspect so that the conditions are as good
as possible ....within all the limitations and shortcomings,"
he said.
More than 10 thousand educational institutions experienced in the
last half of August stories similar to those narrated by Patricia
Pérez. According to the country's education authorities, they
have been conditioned according to their specific contexts
and with a focus on ------- meeting the particular needs of
their students.
For the family of Paula, another second-grade girl, the adjustments
this September ......will be more complex. When the blackouts
intensified, they moved to the paternal grandparents' house,
in Marianao, an area close to hospitals, and with better
electricity coverage.
"But we don't want to change her school ---- because she has her
teacher and her classroom with conditions. We will get up earlier
and - with the bike - we will try to arrive on time. The teacher has
already given us some flexibility with the schedule," explained
the father, Aliot Martín Anido.
"I work in Playa and my wife in Old Havana, but we both have
flexible schedules. One of the two will always be nearby in
case any unforeseen event arises. When the day is over,
we return to Marianao to spend the night," explained
the graphic designer.
"We are going to try to stay a few nights in Diez de Octubre, to see
how Paula adapts, if she wakes up well ...or if she finds it very
stressful. The idea is to see what other things we can do so
that everything is as good as possible for her," added
Martín Anido.
OF UNIFORMS AND NOTEBOOKS
Getting school uniforms has become one of the main problems
before the start of the new school year, because production
has been slowed down by the economic difficulties that
the country is experiencing.
This was confirmed by Trujillo Barreto. During the month of August,
only 12% of those needed for primary education were covered,
and a similar proportion in secondary education, according
to data offered at a press conference.
The main causes are power cuts in the workshops, lack of fuel
to move fabrics and limitations on importing supplies.
"For the eldest, the uniforms - luckily still work; The backpack is still
good. But we did have to buy him shoes and notebooks, pencils and
other materials for school, including printing some notebooks that
are missing," Pérez said.
In the difficult context, once again alliances and community
solidarity can be a relief. The Federation of Cuban Women
(FMC) has created brigades of seamstresses "to help fix
school uniforms," Teresa Amarelle Boué, secretary
general of that organization, explained in an
interview with Prensa Latina.
"We have also seen the donations that are made - from one family to
another, between those who have already finished high school and
those who are now starting it," said Teresa, also a member of the
Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Party.
In Daynelys Castro's classroom, they have agreed...... that those
uniforms that no longer serve a child will be donated. "It is not
obligatory, but we know that not all families have the same
conditions and we want everyone to feel equal,"
argued the teacher.
"That way almost all my students, with the support of parents, have
school uniforms, in some cases .....without having to buy them. And
whoever has bought very large sizes, will have a little more time to
send them to be fixed," he added.
In the same spirit, the FMC promotes collaboration for the
preparation of the study material base. "Now begins a
stage of covering notebooks, of covering books,
sometimes even binding them. And solidarity
is essential there," insisted Amarelle Boué.
The eagerness of the Cuban women's organization --- is not idle.
Although there are very involved fathers like Paula's, the
patriarchal tradition that still marks us means that
women carry on their shoulders many of the
responsibilities..... associated with the
resumption of teaching activities.
Most of those who work in front of the classroom, and have habitual
household and care tasks, not a few will see their working days
double and triple in intensity, in the midst of a situation that
is already tense.
LANDING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
No solution is definitive, no initiative can be replicated in the same
way --- everywhere. The Cuban education system has to deploy a
flexible and differentiated organizational scheme in the face of
the limitations of transportation, food, lodging and availability
of teachers - that affect several territories.
"No institution has to resemble another, because the communities
are not the same either. The common thing --- will be to meet the
training aspirations of each level," summarized Trujillo Barreto.
In terms of teacher coverage, the shortage of teachers persists,
with 73% of teachers qualified nationally in general education,
according to the minister. The most complex situations -- are
concentrated in Havana and other western provinces, while
the eastern region has more favourable indicators, in
this regard.
As a way out, a mobilization is implemented - that integrates
university students and pedagogical careers, professionals
from other sectors, and retirees.
The national route, however, points to a common destiny: to
guarantee the continuity of the educational process and
protect the right to education.
Another essential principle is case-by-case monitoring and
continuous attention to the most vulnerable students, in
any of the teaching modalities.
"We are living in a time where children have also been aware of
whether there is light, if something is missing, what I am going
to take to school and they have lost part of their play, of their
recreation time," Daynelys Castro reflected.
"I have made stickers, stickers to motivate children and
I have looked for some means of teaching," she said.
"I want my students to go to school knowing that they are going to
learn, either through games, anecdotes, exchanges and questions
and answers; but that they will also enjoy. I want them to get to a
safe place, where they are going to feel who they are: children."