EDITORIAL: Back to the Classroom

Schoolyear 2021-2022 restarts this Monday in all grades. It’s the return to the classrooms after the summer holidays, with the particularity that the course will end in November.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education is still noteworthy, but the trend is to normalize the cycles. The next schoolyear begins precisely in November and will end in July. In September 2023, the normal school program will resume.

It’s evident that now students and teachers will be required to make a greater effort to meet the objectives of each grade in less time. The planning has been adapted, but that doesn’t mean that the rigor should be less.

The hiatus established by the pandemic affected the quality of teaching, even though alternatives such as teleclasses were required to ease to some extent the shortcomings due to the lack of face-to-face classes.

Now that 56.2% of students already have the booster dose of the national vaccines against Covid-19, it’s urgent to make up for time. Vaccination will continue this month until all students are immunized.

Schools must comply with the hygienic-sanitary measures necessary to prevent the transmission of diseases.

In a recent press conference, the Minister of Education, Ena Elsa Velázquez, stated that 97% of teaching staff is guaranteed, and the rest will be covered with the contribution of final-year students in the 29 existing pedagogical schools in the country and the support of the universities.

She also reported that 668 educational centers were repaired, and progress was made in the rehabilitation of 778 with new paint jobs, restoring of hydro-sanitary facilities, and in some full refurbishing are carried out, so that in necessary cases students will restart the course in other facilities.

One thing is clear: all students will have their study material, their classroom, and their teachers staff.

The economic situation is complex, but education remains a priority. The minister recalled that the State allocates 25% of its budget to this sphere, and she affirmed that the country has human capital that allows it to overcome the existing obstacles.

However, the challenge is far greater. And the responsibility has to be shared by schools and the family. Returning to the classroom must involve an inclusive commitment: the future lies in education. And Cuba has the challenge of continuing to be a benchmark in the continent for the quality of teaching. It’s everyone’s task.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff