Cargando...The 2016-2017 school year opens in Cuba with the aim of increasing education quality, not only in the area of training, but also in social behavior of students and in the excellence of teachers.
According to Education minister Ena Elsa Velazquez, the new school year is marked by a light increase in elementary school education, the growth to 24 the number of teacher training schools with a new one in eastern Granma province, among other elements.
Over 1.7 million students have been registered for the course, in 10 600 education centers in the country. Some 94 percent of the teachers and professors needed has been guaranteed, and in order fill the deficit of teachers, alternatives like the hiring of retired teachers and professionals from other fields, as well as university students are being implemented particularly in western Cuba, including the capital Havana.
At present there are nearly 13 thousand teachers who are not being employed in education for several reasons and this phenomenon has been described as an exodus of teachers which continues to grow each year in several provinces. At times, the figure of those who leave education is higher than the number of new graduates from pedagogical centers, the minister said.
Over the past 3 years pedagogical schools have graduated more than 14 000 teachers for elementary, pre-school and special education and the current registration in those centers surpasses 21 thousand students in all 24 teacher-training schools.
As new elements, the minister announced the opening this year of a pedagogical school in the municipality of Manzanillo, eastern Granma province, and the first graduation of English Language teachers for elementary education, which is in tune with the strategy of the Education Ministry to favor the learning of English in the country. (Taken from Cuban News Agency)
