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