Havana Cuba. — This September 5 almost two million students returned to the classroom. As is customary on the Island, the official media insist that “everything is guaranteed”, however, parents and workers from the study centers themselves assure that the reality is different.
“Everything they said at the round table is a lie. In the store of my children’s school there are only peas, salt and rice, and they are forbidden for the children to bring a main dish to improve their lunch because they say that uniformity cannot be broken, ”he revealed to CubaNet a mother who identified herself as María de Jesús, whose son and daughter are in primary and secondary education, respectively.
“That uniformity thing is another way of saying that at school they don’t want social differences to exist, it can’t happen that a child brings an egg from home to accompany lunch and another has nothing,” he added.
On September 1, the Minister of Education, Ena Elsa Velázquez Cobiella, and other directors of the sector recognized in the program round tableto the fact that “the new course will take place in a complex context”, however, they assured that the conditions to restart the course were created after “the authorities of the MINED (Ministry of Education) carried out the usual tour of all the provinces of the country ”.
As a solution to power cuts, Velázquez said that “there are facilities with classrooms that are not sufficiently ventilated or that are not favored by natural light. Therefore, it is an aspect to take into account to make rotations and use other premises of the center”. The official also suggested that television classes be moved to times when there is no blackout.
In contrast, the directors of the schools in Mayabeque informed parents that they will not take action if students are absent from classes due to blackouts or due to lack of snacks. However, “it’s up to parents and students to catch up if they want to pass the systematic assessments.”
Likewise, they indicated that, to start the course, they only had pencils. The insufficiency of uniforms for elementary students also continues. Parents were warned that, if they do not have the required clothing, students will not be able to wear shirts with “flashy signs, advertisements, or colors that are not in accordance with what is established.”
Finally, Mayabeque parents expressed concern due to the lack of bread for snacks in high school. This is designated to children’s circles, boarding schools and hospitals.
“We don’t know how we are going to give our children breakfast so they can study, not to mention the quality of the teachers. To make matters worse, the State does not guarantee the material basis for study, but indoctrination is guaranteed. The situation is desperate and it happens at all levels of education,” Susana Reyes, mother of a teenager, told this newspaper.
According to the MINED, this course will end on November 18 and the 2022-23 course will begin on the 28th of the same month, until July 2023. Thus, the 2023-24 course will return to normal, from September to July.
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