Cuban Education Policies
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Transcript of Cuban Education Policies
CU
BA
!
(All photos by Rachael Peters unless otherwise noted)
Education Structure
● Pre-primary (3-5)
● Primary (6-11)
● Secondary (12-17)
● Tertiary (18-22)
Compulsory (6-14)
● Literacy Rate: 99%
● Emphasis on health and medical
fields
● Education is free
(UNESCO, 2014)
An instrument
of political
power
Extreme political content in
textbook
Heavy indoctrination
Serves a role of politicization
Education is an intrinsic part of the political system in
Cuba (Sanguinetty, 2008)
(Kurtz, 2000)
9% of GDP
invested in
Education
Average is 4% - 4.4% in the rest
of Latin America (Puryear,
2008).
In 1959, there was a strong
commitment to education (Eckstien,
1997).
Political Leadership: Dictators have
the power to make it a priority
Diploma
Disease
“The most educated
unemployed and
underemployed poor population
in the world” (Eckstein, 1997).
In 1991, the collapse of Soviet
Union ceased Soviet aid and trade.
Cuba’s economy declined 50%
Educational advancements became
a “luxury the government could no
longer afford” (Eckstein, 1997).
The government turned to
deschooling to combat the Diploma
Disease.
Women’s Education
Gross enrolment:
Primary Education:
Women 96%
Men 100%
Secondary Education:
Women 100%
Men 98%
Tertiary:
Women 51%
Men 31%
● Before the Revolution
○ Illiteracy, unemployment, exploitation
● Revolution
○ Literacy Brigades
○ The Federation of Cuban Woman
● Today
○ Cuba is 19th of 135 in the World Economic
Forums 2012 Global Gender Gap Report
(measures across health, literacy,
economic and political status)
United States Embargo
1960- U.S. enacts trade embargo
due to nationalization of $1
billion of U.S.-owned property in
Cuba
UN hold vote to end embargo
every year since 1991
1992 Cuba Democracy Act, Helm-
Burton Act
Department of the Treasury
OFAC
16 U.S. universities travel to Cuba
2015- Lighten restrictions
(Renwick, D., Lee, B. & McBride, J., 2016 & Sengupta, S. & Gladstone, R.,2016)
Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (ICAP)
NGO founded in 1960
Purpose: to form ties between Cuba
and citizens of other countries
Three divisions
Work with travel agencies to set up
volunteer projects, relief work,
charity work
Office in each province
Lobbies U.S. government on social,
legal, and political matters
Primarily self-sustaining
Venceremos Brigade (“We Shall Overcome”)
Politically motivated international
organization
Founded in 1969 by Students for a
Democratic Society & officials in
Cuba
Coalition of young people working
side by side with Cubans and
challenging U.S. policies
First trip in Nov. ‘69 with 216 people
left from Czechoslovakia(Venceremos Brigade, 2015)
Doctor
Diplomacy
Humanitarian aid or clever
economic policies?
The relationship with Venezuela - Hugo Chavez saw Fidel Castro as a mentor, they both that that cooperation
between two socialist nations could be a great way to show defiance against
George W. Bush, who Chavez called “The little imperial gentleman from the
North” (Hugo Chavez: Memorable moments, 2013)
- In 2000 Venezuela established Convenio Integral de Cooperacio .
- It was a deal in which Venezuela would exchange oil for medical and education professionals,
(Lehr, 2011).
- This policy started breaking down in 2013 after Chavez died.
- Conveniently this was also the start of the “United States Cuban Thaw”. (What is behind the
US-Cuban Thaw, 2013)
Challenges and Opportunities of this policy
- At it’s initial inception of this policy it was seen as a way to provide
humanitarian services from Cuba.
- It has been criticized as a way to promote Cuba’s socialist agenda to other
poor Latin American countries
- Since Chavez’s death, and Raul Castro taking over and being more open to a
relationship with Cuba, this benefits America’s tourism and education
economies by allowing more access to Cuba for American Citizens.
- It remains to be see how this will benefit Cuba.
El Fin!
References
BBC News (2013, March 6). Hugo Chavez: Memorable moments. BBC World News, Latin America. Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-20712033
BBC News (2015, August 14). What is behind the US-Cuban thaw. BBC World News, Latin America. Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30524560
Eckstein, S. (1997). The coming crisis in Cuban education. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 4(1), 107-120.
Galvez, J.C. (Photographer). (2013, January 9). The Kiss of Death. [Photograph]. Retrieved from:
http://www.cubademocraciayvida.org/web/article.asp.?artID=19812
Hinze, M. (2007, March 01). The revolutionary role of women in Cuba. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from
http://liberationschool.org/07-03-01-the-revolutionary-role-women-in-html/
Lehr, S. (2008, 11). Ethical dilemmas in individual and collective rights‐based approaches to tertiary education
scholarships: The cases of Canada and Cuba. Comparative Education, 44(4), 425-444. doi:10.1080/03050060802481454
Puryear, J. (2009, March 18). Jeffrey Puryear on Cuban education. CIES Conference 2008: Cuban Education. Podcast
retrieved from https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id395722720
Renwick, D., Lee, B. & McBride, J. (2016, September 7). U.S.-Cuba relations. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from
http://www.cfr.org/cuba/us-cuba-relations/p11113
Torregrosa, L. L. (2013, March 05). In Cuba, Equality Is Two-Sided. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/world/americas/06iht-letter06.html
Venceremos Brigade (2015, January 21). About us. Venceremos Brigade. Retieved from http://www.venceremosbrigade.net/about.htm
References
Sanguinetty, J. (2009, March 18). Understanding Cuban education. CIES Conference 2008: Cuban Education. Podcast
retrieved from https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id395722720
Sengupta, S. & Gladstone, R. (2016, October 26). U.S. abstains in U.N. vote condemning Cuba embargo. The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/world/americas/united-nations-cuba-embargo.html?_r=0
UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2014) Country profiles [Data file]. Retrieved November 03, 2016, from
http://www.uis.unesco.org/DataCentre/Pages/country-profile.aspx?code=CUB