Report of the Republic of Cuba to the 36th International Conference on Public Education.

Overview & Synopsis

The Cuban Ministry of Education relates difficulty in presenting a valid report on education in Cuba from 1974-76 due to major changes instituted in 1975 in the first year of a five-year educational improvement plan. Information presented in the document is the most up to date available, however, and does reflect Cuba's objective to structure education along socialist/communist lines. In accordance with this philosophy, schooling is free to all students, and is integrated with work experience, physical education, political and social activities, and military training. Elementary and secondary educational administration is centralized in the Ministry of Education, which also sets national educational policy. Teacher education programs have been expanded to meet the increasing demand for general and vocational secondary education. In-service education programs have also been expanded to include moral, political, and ideological training to complement the scientific, technical, and pedagogical training stressed in teacher training courses. Although statistics on specific changes in the educational system resulting from the five-year plan are not yet available, the period 1974-76 can be characterized as one of expanded vocational education, improved teacher education, accountability, social consciousness, increased enrollment, and curriculum development along Marxist-Leninist lines. (Author/DB)