CAMAGÜEY, January 28 (Yoel Blanco García, CPIC /
www.cubanet.org) - Required uniforms and other school supplies are only
available in dollars in the Florida municipality of Camagüey province,
distressing parents who say they can’t afford to outfit their children for
school.
"My son goes to second grade, and three times per week he goes to
school without his uniform, because in three years they have only sold two
shirts and one pair of shorts, and never shoes," said Oscar José
Sieres, referring to government sales of subsidized clothing. Such sales have
become rarer in recent years, although the items are available in dollar stores.
"The uniform shirts are available at "La Estrella," a store
operated by a government entity called Local Industries, at 1.15 dollar,"
said Sieres.
The shirt’s price is 29.90 pesos at the current exchange rate, or 12.7
percent of the average monthly salary of 234 pesos, according to Cuban
government statistics.
Not all Cubans have access to dollars, and many must rely on peso sales of
rationed goods, which are not always available.
Sieres concluded, "At my son’s school, the administration
distributed two coupons for shoes for every 20 students."
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