14ymedio, Havana, December 7, 2023 — The so-called Third Improvement – an attempt to update the Cuban educational system and its institutions – did not reach the classrooms of Matanzas and Camagüey until this December, when the school year was about to finish its first semester. The new textbooks, which have been delivered to very few groups of students, come with suggestions of caution because they are more “sensitive” than the old ones.
An article published this Wednesday in the official newspaper Girón gave an account of the partial update of the “material base of study” and obliquely mentioned its deficiencies. At the moment, only the first and fourth grades of primary school, the seventh of middle school and the tenth of high school have received the books. The first grades of Technical Teaching and Pedagogy also obtained new books.
The municipality of Nuevitas in Camagüey is in a similar situation, where only the first and fourth grade students received the new materials this Monday. As for the seventh and tenth, the books are expected to be distributed shortly. For the rest of the grades, which will not receive the school supplies this year, there is still no clarity on the delivery date.
The Third Improvement, which was to provide a “more comprehensive and multifaceted approach” to education on the Island, has been news since at least 2017. However, it has not been until now, six years later, that the education system has begun the first reforms, requiring much patience.
The poor quality of the books – celebrated by the authorities and the official press – has been criticized by several local officials
The poor quality of the books – celebrated by the authorities and the official press – has been