Will the New School Year Truly Be a Celebration in Cuba?

With September 1st just days away, Cuba is preparing to begin a new school year. However, at homes, the arrival of this date is not met with enthusiasm alone. Along with the anticipation of returning to classrooms, teachers, and classmates. The concern of mothers, fathers, and students at all levels is also growing.

The search begins for uniforms, shoes, backpacks, notebooks, and other necessary school supplies. But amidst the current economic crisis, acquiring these items becomes an obstacle course for many families. Scarcity, high prices, and the loss of purchasing power. It makes preparing a child or teenager for the new school year an enormous sacrifice in many homes.

Added to this reality are the endless power outages. Studying without electricity, doing homework in inadequate conditions. Getting little rest, and facing the heat at night affects both students and their families. In many cases, students arrive at school after sleeping poorly. Or not having been able to prepare properly for the day. The situation is even more complex for university students who must also deal with difficulties in transportation, food, and housing.

Official discourse has presented the new school year as a grand celebration for Cuba. And certainly, education deserves to be celebrated. It is also legitimate to acknowledge the efforts of teachers, education workers, and communities that try to keep schools running. Even under very adverse circumstances. But a celebration cannot be reduced to cultural events, slogans, speeches, or decorated settings. The true celebration should be reflected in the concrete conditions in which our children and young people study.

Moreover the reality for many families is far removed from this festive image. There are parents who give everything to guarantee their children the bare necessities. Mothers and grandparents travel to different places in search of a pair of shoes or a notebook. Homes where feeding the children is prioritized, even if it means forgoing other needs. There are students facing silent deprivation and university students attending classes hungry. Trying to sustain their studies amidst a precariousness that should have no place in academic life.

This is not about ignoring the importance of Cuban education or diminishing the work of teachers. Precisely because education is an essential right and a pillar of society. We must speak honestly about the problems that affect it. The dedication of teachers cannot indefinitely replace the resources, food, electricity, transportation, and dignified conditions that schools and students need.

Also the start of the school year should also be an opportunity to listen to the concerns of families and respond with concrete actions. Children and young people don’t just need open classrooms. They need to be able to get to them under adequate conditions. Study without hunger, rest, have access to materials, and feel safe. Educators, for their part, deserve support, recognition, and better conditions to carry out their crucial work.

Despite everything, on September 1st, the school doors will reopen. Uniforms, notebooks, children’s voices, and the dedication of those who continue to believe in the value of learning will return. Many families will make an extraordinary effort to ensure their children don’t left their goals. Many students will persevere, even when circumstances seem to tell them otherwise.

This determination deserves respect, but also answers. The resilience of families and the dedication of teachers should not be used to mask shortcomings. Or to present as normal what constitutes a serious difficulty. Education cannot be sustained solely on individual sacrifices.

Furthermore the new school year arrives, then, amidst expectations and concerns. It will not be a great celebration for everyone if classrooms and homes continue to face power outages, shortages, unaffordable prices, and students with unmet basic needs. But it can become an opportunity to reaffirm something fundamental. Educating our children and young people is a collective responsibility and a priority that cannot be abandoned.

Because, despite everything, education remains one of the essential pillars of Cuba’s future. Defending it means guaranteeing much more than simply opening schools. It means creating the conditions so that every child, adolescent, and young person can learn, eat, rest, and thrive with dignity.

By: Alvaro Raúl Suárez Leyva

Radio Angulo
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