Cuban students and their parents are preparing to start a new school year in Cuba next week marked by a growing shortage of teachers, lack of adequate supplies, and worsening blackouts in the communism-ruined nation.
Cuba will begin its 2026-2027 school year on Tuesday, September 1. According to the communist regime, about 1.4 million Cuban students are called to return to classes on that day. The shortcomings caused by the ongoing communism-induced collapse of Cuba’s infrastructure have forced the Castro regime to introduce special changes to an already notoriously inefficient education system.
Speaking at a press conference this week, Cuban Education Minister Naima Trujillo Barreto reportedly attributed the shortcomings of the nation’s education system to the “oil blockade” of the United States.
“The Cuban education system is aware of the tremendous difficulties caused by the extraordinary impacts that the collective suffocation imposed on us has on our children and adolescents,” Trujillo Barreto reportedly said, per Cubanet.
Some of the changes in school hours are directly in response to the ever-worsening blackouts in Cuba that can last for days. Infobae reported that a recent blackout left four eastern Cuba provinces without power on Thursday, alleged caused by a “failure in the transmission system.” The blackout reportedly affected around 3.4 million people.
Other changes are reportedly being made in response to the widespread shortage of teachers in Cuba. According to Cuban-focused outlets, Trujillo Barreto acknowledged to reporters that there are only enough teachers in Cuba to cover approximately 73 percent of the educational demands, with most of the shortages centered in the capital city of Havana and western Cuba provinces.
To offset the teacher shortages, the Cuban minister said that college students and non-teacher culture, science, and industry professionals will be called upon to fill the gaps. Additionally, teachers will be redistributed and allowed to teach at more than one institution.
The compulsory uniforms that students have been obligated to wear for decades will not be required this year, as the Cuban regime official admitted that the government was only capable of manufacturing roughly 12 percent of all required uniforms for both elementary and high school students. The compulsory uniforms are sold by the Cuban regime to parents. Prior to the recently announced changes, a local Havana government outlet announced the start of the sale of uniforms for the upcoming school year.
Shortages of uniforms, however, are not a new issue in Cuba but rather a recurring yearly issue. Cuban parents have repeatedly denounced that they had no choice but to obtain new uniforms for their children through black markets, as children without uniforms were not allowed in classrooms. Inconsistent uniform sizes are also a recurring problem that children and parents have had to endure. Cibercuba reported last week that several Cuban families denounced having received oversized uniforms for their children, which render the pieces unusable.
Despite the Cuban regime’s claims that the nation is ready for a new school year, an unnamed provincial education official from Camagüey spoke with ADN Cuba this week and affirmed that the province is not in any condition to begin a new academic period.
“There are no materials for teachers to use in planning their lessons, just a pencil. The county does not have fuel for cooking meals; school uniforms are not yet available in its stores,” the official reportedly affirmed, “and it continues to make minor repairs to schools that have already been repaired and paid for by the brigade of self-employed workers.”
“Parents are redoubling their efforts; there are many shortages. In addition, a large number of teachers are leaving to seek better-paying jobs elsewhere to support their families,” the official added.
A Cuban mother from the Havana municipality of Playa who also spoke with ADN Cuba on condition of anonymity expressed her concerns on the lack of proper sleep that children are experiencing as a result of the daily blackouts. She detailed that, over the past three months, her area has not received power during sleep hours.
The mother said:
I see many children and teenagers experiencing anxiety, hair loss. My children’s friends talk about these issues among themselves, which is concerning because these are symptoms of chronic stress that has built up over time. Another issue is food shortages and inflation. This affects their ability to concentrate and learn.
Cuba’s education system, which the communist regime has falsely sold as an “achievement” to the world for decades, is widely known for having a curriculum that extensively pushes communist indoctrination, subjecting students to the ideological tenets of the Cuban communist party. Parents who instead choose to homeschool their children and raise them outside the communist education system are persecuted and imprisoned.
More recently, in April, multiple reports indicated that the ruling communists forced schools to participate in a communist propaganda campaign against the United States’ pressure campaign on the Castro regime.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.