New school year begins in Cuba amid teacher shortage
On September 1, nearly 1.4 million students in Cuba will begin a new school year. However, the country's economic and energy crisis is also seriously affecting the education system: the supply of teachers in schools has fallen by 73 percent, and only 12 percent of school uniforms for primary school students are ready.
Cuba is preparing to start the new school year on time with a teacher shortage.
Cuba is preparing to start the 2026-2027 school year on time. However, according to Reuters, the country's shortages of fuel, electricity, transportation and essential goods have also put schools in a difficult situation.
Cuban Education Minister Naima Trujillo noted that the situation in the country remains complex. According to her, starting the new school year in such conditions is a great achievement in itself.
**Why are teachers leaving schools?**
One of the main reasons for the shortage of teachers in Cuba is low wages and economic difficulties in the country. Since teachers' incomes are no longer enough to cover daily needs in the face of inflation, some of them have moved to other, better-paid jobs, while others have left the country.
This problem is not new: studies show that the departure of teachers to other fields in Cuba has been going on since the 1990s, making the shortage of teachers a long-term problem.
In the new school year, university students, specialists from other fields and retired teachers will be involved in classes to fill the gap. It is planned to pay extra for teachers who take on additional workload.
The situation is more acute in the capital, Havana. There, about 3,000 teachers will be sent from the eastern regions of the country to partially compensate for the teacher shortage.
**Students are also lacking school uniforms**
The problem is not limited to the issue of personnel. Power outages and production difficulties in Cuba have also affected the supply of school uniforms. According to official data, only 12 percent of the necessary school uniforms for primary school students have been produced.
Therefore, the Ministry of Education has called on schools to be flexible in the matter of dress. Students can come to class in comfortable clothes, with their traditional red ties, instead of school uniforms.
Electricity and transportation problems are also affecting schools.