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Draft education law requires defending «the principles of the Revolution», according to Infobae
The text, with 243 articles, would replace the law in force since 1959 and will go before the National Assembly in December. It grants students the right to express their opinions freely and, in the next article, requires them to defend the Revolution, according to the outlet CubaNoticias 360 cited by Infobae.
The draft of the new Education Law, with 243 articles, would replace Law 680, in force since 1959, and its presentation to the National Assembly of People's Power is scheduled for December. The text was made public by the outlet CubaNoticias 360 and was drawn up with the participation of more than 25 agencies, coordinated by the ministries of Education and Higher Education, according to Infobae.
Article 11 recognizes that students may form and freely express their opinions, be heard and take part in the decisions that affect them. Article 12 imposes on them, among their duties, to «defend the principles of the Revolution, preserving national independence and security». According to CubaNoticias 360, the document does not explain how a conflict between the two provisions would be resolved, nor what would happen to a student who expresses positions contrary to socialism.
The obligation extends to staff: article 14 requires teaching and non-teaching personnel to «defend the Socialist Homeland, the principles of the Revolution and the values of Cuban society», to maintain permanent political and ideological training and to behave ethically on social media, something the proposal does not define precisely. Article 6 establishes that education will promote national values and ideals on the basis of «Martí-inspired, Fidelista, Marxist and Leninist» thought.
In higher education, article 50 includes the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba among the bodies to which certain university institutions are subordinate, and the autonomy granted to those centers is made conditional on its consistency with «the principles of socialist society».
On the economic side, article 41 keeps the administration of schools under state responsibility but allows resources from non-state forms of management and from international cooperation, and article 239 enables supplementary income through foundations, interface companies and mipymes. «We remain state-funded, but we are going to be able to use supplementary financing to keep supporting educational processes», the deputy minister of Education, Marlen Triana Mederos, told the state newspaper Granma, in remarks translated by Yamacoa. The opening does not allow independent private schools. The rule also defines compulsory schooling from preschool through ninth grade and allows the certification of knowledge acquired outside the school system.
The draft arrives with the school year under way and with documented shortfalls. According to a report published by Granma and picked up by CiberCuba, national teacher coverage was around 73% at the start of classes, with about 24,000 posts unfilled and more than 380,000 students without an assigned lead teacher; Camagüey, Holguín, Matanzas and Sancti Spíritus had the biggest shortfalls, and the Education Ministry turned to university students, rehired retirees and professionals from other sectors. CiberCuba documented the case of the Máximo Gómez primary school, in Matanzas, which had gone more than 23 days without electricity.
Sources: Infobae
Data updated: 2026-10-24T05:30:00.000Z