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FROM
CUBA
Teacher shortage acute in Havana
HAVANA, April 28 (José Antonio
Fornaris, Cuba-Verdad / www.cubanet.org)
- Cuba's much-vaunted educational system
has trouble attracting teachers; primary
schools in Old Havana still have 31 unfilled
classroom spots in April, two-thirds into
the school year.
Education and health are often touted by
Havana as the "accomplishments"
of the Revolution, but recently Fidel Castro
himself remarked that people in Havana don't
want to become teachers.
The government has created an expedited
program to graduate what it calls "emerging
teachers," but apparently even those
are not enough to satisfy demand.
Just in one school, the José Martí,
on Obispo Street, there are three vacancies.
The parents of one third-grade student at
the school said their child has not had
a teacher since December.
The employee at the municipal education
department who said there are presently
31 openings to be filled said other municipalities
in the city are in a similar situation.
Sometimes, the directors and their assistants
at the schools pitch in to alleviate the
shortage.
Versión
original en español
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