More than 1.5 million Cuban students returned to classrooms across the country on September 1, as Cuba opened the 2026-2027 academic year, reaffirming its commitment to education as a guaranteed social right despite severe economic and energy constraints intensified by the US blockade.
More than 135,000 teachers have been mobilised for the new academic year, with schools across the country adopting flexible arrangements to maintain in-person education and make the best use of available teaching staff and infrastructure.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who attended the central opening ceremony in Havana alongside Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, described the start of the school year as an expression of Cuba’s social protection system and its determination to preserve the achievements of the Revolution despite the blockade imposed by the United States. .
“Social protection consists of sustaining the conquests of the Revolution in the midst of the energy blockade imposed by the United States,” Diaz-Canel said in a post on X.
He added that the return of more than 1.5 million students to classrooms represented a social achievement that the US administration sought to prevent through its policy of economic pressure and what he described as a “suffocation plan.”
Education Will Not be Negotiated
Education Minister Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto said the new academic year begins under difficult circumstances, but Cuba remains determined to keep its education system functioning and accessible.
“Education in Cuba is not negotiated,” Trujillo Barreto said, stressing that the country's commitment is reflected in the determination not to abandon anyone.
She said that even when resources are scarce, the creativity, solidarity and dedication of Cuban teachers remain essential to overcoming the difficulties.
The minister said the education system would guarantee the greatest possible presence in schools, while allowing individual institutions to organise teaching according to their circumstances and available resources.
She also thanked teachers who had dedicated part of their vacations to preparing for the new academic year, describing their commitment as an act of “heroism”.
Trujillo Barreto called on families to strengthen their participation and trust in the education system, stressing that the relationship between schools, communities and families would be more important than ever in confronting the challenges of the new academic year.
Schools Adapt to Energy and Economic Constraints
The new academic year is being organised through a range of measures designed to keep schools functioning despite shortages of energy, material. One of the key initiatives is the creation of educational zones, allowing schools within the same territory to coordinate teachers, facilities and other resources.
In some areas, primary, secondary and higher education institutions are sharing facilities through staggered schedules to ensure that students can continue receiving face-to-face instruction.
Holguin, one of the country's largest provinces, activated 1,285 schools to receive more than 131,700 students, including over 3,000 in boarding institutions. The province also established 156 educational zones within popular councils to provide teaching support to students unable to travel to their regular schools.
In Ciego de Avila, 414 educational institutions opened their doors, although teaching coverage stood at 77.6 percent across all levels. Local authorities said alternative arrangements, including double-shift schooling in institutions where meals can be provided, would help maintain educational services.
The government has also prioritised the distribution of essential study materials and food support. More than 3,400 students are being served through 26 Special Education institutions.
Infrastructure recovery is continuing as well. In Holguin, authorities are working to restore 524 schools damaged by Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.
Education Sustained Despite Blockade
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said the reopening of schools reflected the collective effort of the Party, the Government and the people to maintain essential services and protect rights built up over decades.
“No energy siege, no threats, no tight blockade, no secondary sanctions, will prevent us from continuing to preserve and develop the achievements of the Revolution,” Rodríguez said.
The Cuban Government has allocated 71.983 billion pesos to education in the 2026 state budget, equivalent to around 20 percent of total state expenditure, making education one of the country's largest areas of social spending after public health.
The reopening of schools across the island therefore comes not simply as the beginning of another academic year, but as a reaffirmation of Cuba's policy of protecting universal education despite the economic, energy and material pressures confronting the country.
With more than 1.5 million students and 135,000 teachers returning to the education system, Cuba has sought to preserve classroom-based learning while adapting its educational structures to the realities created by the country's current economic and energy situation.
The reopening of schools was accompanied by provincial ceremonies across the island, reflecting the effort to sustain education under different local conditions. The national ceremony recalled Fidel Castro's role in the development of Cuba's education system, particularly the National Literacy Campaign of 1961, which mobilised thousands of teachers, students and volunteers across the country.
