The Cuban Education System: A Model of Accessible Education

The Cuban education system has garnered international attention as a unique model, particularly for its commitment to accessibility and equality. This article provides an overview of the system, its historical context, its structure, achievements, and the challenges it faces.

Historical Context and Revolutionary Reforms

Prior to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, access to education was limited, with less than half of Cuban children attending school and a literacy rate of approximately 60%. José Martí, a Cuban hero and independence leader, advocated for education as a civil right and a necessary means for equalizing Cubans’ lives. Early revolutionary leaders drew heavily on Martí’s philosophy and installed education as a vehicle for realizing a more egalitarian society and a central part of national policy. In June 1961, the revolutionary government took a decisive step by nationalizing all educational institutions and creating a free, nationalized school system for all. This was followed by intensive reforms aimed at equipping all schools to provide a quality education to every child.

One of the most impactful initiatives was the Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961. The campaign's goal was to eliminate illiteracy by enabling all citizens to achieve at least a first-grade reading and writing level. Volunteer teachers, many of them young women, went to the homes of illiterate people to give daily reading and writing lessons. In many cases, these volunteers moved to the countryside for a year to work directly with rural families who previously had little or no access to schooling. The campaign was unprecedented in its efficacy. According to statistics cited by Abel Prieto, director of the campaign in the Pinar del Río province, approximately 707,212 people became literate at the target level over the course of the campaign, reducing illiteracy from 23 to 3.9 percent in only one year. On December 22, 1961, Fidel Castro declared Cuba free of illiteracy. To sustain this achievement, the government oversaw the construction of thousands of new classrooms and coordinated the implementation of círculos infantiles, specialized preschool programs that improved early-childhood education and contributed to gender equity by giving mothers more freedom to join the workforce.

Structure of the Education System

Since 1976, the Ministries of Education and Superior Education have overseen the Cuban school system, which is organized into four departments: preschool; general (primary, basic secondary, advanced secondary, and higher); special; and technical and professional education. All schooling remains free and is mandatory through the ninth grade. University systems remain active in each province, and, like the rest of the educational system, they are free. The education system is 100% subsidized by the government, meaning that Cuban students at all levels can attend school for free.

The different levels are divided into primary education (6 years), basic secondary education (3 years), pre-university secondary education (3 years) and higher education (5 or 6 years, depending on the major.

Primary Education

Primary education gets great priority in the country. The primary-school curriculum includes dance, lessons on health and hygiene, and revolutionary history. Classroom learning is often integrated with basic skills, such as gardening, pruning, wood and metal crafts, and handicrafts. There is a strict maximum of 25 children per primary-school class, many of which have as few as 20. A five-year course is provided for pre-primary and primary/basic school teachers at the Institutos Superiores Pedagógicos. They obtain the "Licenciado en Educación Primaria" (Certificate in Primary Education) or other types of degrees. Admission to these courses is based on the Bachillerato. Higher education students are offered specialized upgrading courses in the subjects they teach as well as teacher training courses. Many teachers are professionals from the production field.

Secondary Education

The basic secondary school is based on principles of hard work, self-discipline and love of country. As well as primary schools, secondary schools are equipped with all the necessary audio-visual media, including computers, to provide quality education. At the end of basic secondary education, students can choose between pre-university education and technical and professional education. On completion of the basic secondary level, education splits into two categories: pre-university education and technical or professional training.

Higher Education

Higher education in Cuba means the University education. Higher institutes, higher pedagogical institutes, centers of higher education and higher polytechnic institutes. The Ministry of Higher Education is responsible for higher education and it controls teaching, methodology, courses and programs and the allocation of student places, as well as the specialization courses offered by centers of higher education that come under the control of other ministries. Cuba has over 47 universities with a total enrolment of over 400,000 students.

Tertiary academic excellence is not new to Cuba, with the University of Havana being established in 1727. Today universities, higher institutes, higher pedagogical institutes, centers of higher education and polytechnic institutes continue the tradition. The ministry of higher education manages policy for both undergraduate and graduate programs. This includes course content, methodology, teaching and allocations of student places as well.

Tertiary education is offered at state universities as there are no private universities in Cuba. Entry to study programs is determined by earning a bachiller or, in limited fields, a técnico or técnico de nivel medio title as well as a specialty examination for specific study programs chosen according to the economic needs of the state. This 4-5 years of first university study leads to a licenciatura degree. A specified period of service is also required upon the completion of study.

The Licenciatura (Bachelor’s degree equivalent) or professional degree (Titulo) is the first stage of university studies requiring completion of 4-5 years of study. A degree in medicine may require 5 to 6 years to complete. The second stage of higher education consists of three levels: Diplomado, Maestria and Especialista. Within each of these levels, students must complete a minimum of 200 hours in theory, practicum and internship. The third stage of higher education is to obtain a Doctoral Degree. Students must study for 3 to 4 years before they are considered for candidacy in a Doctoral program.

Technical and Vocational Education

The technical and vocational track begins in secundaria básica. A student who proceeds to vocational training following middle school may follow two streams. These are skilled worker courses, and programs that provide middle-level technicians. Graduates of the latter courses with good grades have the choice of going on to technological institutes for further training.

Informal Education

In efforts to make education participatory and far-reaching, the government has also implemented a variety of informal educational programs. For instance, the Educa a Tu Hijo program, first implemented in 1992, helps families and communities to provide home-school-like, early education to young children ages 0 through 5. Originally founded to serve families in remote rural areas, the program is now active throughout the country and reaches approximately 463,000 students. Program monitors and evaluators report that since the program was first implemented, the overall percentage of second-grade students who fail to advance to third-grade after one year has dropped from 7.5 to 1.5%, and that the program is making greater strides in involving community members and parents - including fathers - in the educational process. Another example of informal education is found in programs for adults. For instance, Educación Obrera y Campesina (Education for Workers and Farmers) encompasses all non-higher levels of education and offers course opportunities to enter higher education. In 2000, the “Education for All” television program was introduced, offering televised courses in English, Spanish, and other topics.

Achievements of the Cuban Education System

The Cuban educational system has achieved significant progress since the revolution, particularly in quantitative measures.

High Literacy Rate: With all this focus on education it is no surprise that Cuba has the highest literacy rate in the world at 99.8%.
Increased Enrollment and Graduation Rates: Before 1959, enrollment rates were much lower than those recorded throughout the post-Revolutionary era. According to the ONEI, in 1958-59, there were approximately 26,662 graduates of primary and secondary education combined; by 2016, this number had risen to 347,064. The inclusion of adult and special-needs students in the educational system further increased graduation rates and educational access.
High Percentage of Educated Workers: In 2016-2017, 70.05% of all workers had earned education beyond a basic secondary degree: 23.76% earned the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the other 46.29% completed technical or professional degrees. Only 5.32% stopped after a primary school education or less.
Gender Parity: Cuba shines in gender parity. As of 2015, Cuba’s gender parity in education index is reported by its National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) to be 1.00 for primary school and 1.06 for secondary school-meaning that in primary school there is a one-to-one ratio of female and male students, and in secondary school there are, on average, 1.06 girls for every boy. In 2016-17, 64.89% of university graduates were women.
Effective Preschool Programs: Cuban preschool programs have also proven highly effective: according to the same UNESCO report, 99.5% of children ages 0-6 participated in some form of preschool education, and 97% of Cuban children entering primary school did so with the requisite knowledge and skills.
Favorable Student-to-Teacher Ratio: Additionally, the ONEI reports that in academic year 2016-17, Cuba’s student-to-teacher ratio, an important indicator for educational quality, for primary school was 9.5:1, and for secondary school 9:1. There is a strict maximum of 25 children per primary-school class, many of which have as few as 20.

Cuba was the only Latin American/Caribbean country to meet all of UNESCO’s Education for All 2000-2015 educational goals-which included measures for overall educational quality, adult literacy rates, and quality of preschool and early childhood education. According to a 2014 report by The World Bank, Cuba has the best education system in Latin American and the Caribbean and the only country on the continent to have a high-level teaching faculty. The World Bank Report also praises Cuba for its success in the fields of education and health, with social services that exceeds those of most developing countries and, in certain sectors, are comparable to those of the developed nations. The country’s social system that ensures state-sponsored universal access to education and health services has helped Cuba to achieve universal literacy, eradicate certain diseases and provide universal access to safe drinking water and basic public sanitation.

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Challenges and Areas for Improvement

Despite these remarkable achievements, the Cuban education system faces several challenges:

Limited Resources: Nonetheless, teachers and policymakers face ongoing challenges in how to continue to provide high levels of education in spite of limited access to material resources, including books and computers.
Economic Factors: The economic challenges of the dual currency system and the changing relationship to the market that affect other sectors of Cuban society also confront the education system. Young people weigh conflicting incentives: on one hand, students can gain social status and pride from earning a university degree; on the other, positions that serve the tourist sector and do not necessarily require advanced education often offer greater economic opportunities. This last concern is evidenced by the fact that far fewer students are electing to pursue a university degree: in 2016-17, Cuba graduated 23,478 students from institutes of superior education, compared to 89,560 degrees granted in 2012-13.
Teacher Shortages: In the 2010s, however, the economic crisis in the country, emigration, and low teachers salaries have led to a shortage of educators in primary and secondary schools throughout the island, with schools severely understaffed.
Political Content and Academic Freedom: From an early age, children are indoctrinated in their schools with the government’s political beliefs of communism. Students must be cleared by the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution before they are allowed to take the university entrance examinations. Students demonstrating good political standing in relation to their Communist beliefs receive a letter of approval allowing them to take college entrance exams. Schooling does come at a cost of loyalty to the state, and an obligation to do community service as well.

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