CHAPTER 4: EDUCATION: A REVOLUTION WITHIN A REVOLUTION. EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORT AT THE SERVICE OF ALL CUBANS

Cuba continues to progress ever faster towards full achievement of the economic, social and cultural rights of all Cubans. The new educational revolution now underway, the colossal battle to create a comprehensive general culture among our people and the latest advances in mass-participation sport aimed at enhancing the quality of life of the population, have continued as a natural development of the Cuban revolutionary process, in the application of the never-to-be-abandoned principles of justice, solidarity and equity and in defending our patriotic values of solidarity and internationalism.

Neither the tightening of the economic, trade and financial embargo imposed by the US government on the Cuban people, nor the significant impact of the severe weather that hit Cuba last year have been able to interrupt the continuity of the Revolution's creative work. During over 40 years of revolutionary transformations, Cuba has fostered and expanded highly-developed human capital, an undeniable success visible to the international community.

Education: The right of every Cuban

One of the most conspicuous, extraordinary advances that have been made is undoubtedly the guaranteeing of the right to quality education for every Cuban.

In 2005, efforts to achieve excellence at every level of the education system were redoubled, as part of the ongoing educational revolution. A notable impact has been that of the numerous programs and projects arising from the Battle of Ideas. The added value of the country's social services, especially the experience and successes of the education system which have benefited people in other parts of the world as well as the Cubans, contributed to the 11.8% rate of economic growth recorded by Cuba in 2005.

Given the situation that existed in the pre-Revolutionary era, the efforts in the field of education from the triumph of the Revolution have been massive. In 1959, the Revolutionary government was confronted by the reality of an illiteracy rate of 30% of the population; counting the functionally illiterate, the incidence was around 90% of all Cubans. In 1953, over half a million children had no schools to attend, while over 2 million people from a population of just 6.5 million were fully or functionally illiterate. Only 56.4% of the children were able to attend primary school, while a bare 28% of children and young people in the 13-19 age group managed to go on to further education. There were only 32,800 teachers, of whom 10,000 were unemployed; special education for the physically and mentally handicapped was virtually non-existent. The average educational level of the population over the age of 15 was below third grade, while access to higher education was very restricted.

The early years in the wake of the Revolution were marked by an imperative need for immediate measures to eliminate illiteracy and ensure the expansion of educational services. The solution to the illiteracy problem formed the basis of further educational and social development across the nation. The National Literacy Teaching Campaign covered the whole country. The efforts and monumental commitment of thousands of young Cubans enabled illiteracy to be eradicated nationwide in 1961. The Revolutionary government introduced a law making teaching a free public service to be provided by the state as its inescapable duty and as a right of every Cuban, without discrimination or privilege.

The conditions -facilities, teaching materials, human resources - were progressively created to ensure the provision of high-quality education without distinction or discrimination on grounds of age, sex, color, family income, religion, political opinions or ideas of the pupils or their families, or geographic area. Coverage was total and completely free at all levels of the system (including higher education, thanks to the process underway for open access to university education). Progress was also made in applying the principles of true justice in the granting of the benefits and opportunities of education, with the aim of creating genuinely equal opportunities for access and achievement of the goals set by the system.

Cuba's education system aims at preparing and developing the new generations via a comprehensive, systematic, participative and constantly evolving teaching process, founded on a set of principles that form a tightly coherent system. Another objective is to guarantee that every Cuban enjoys the right to high-quality education and that responsible citizens with a strong sense of solidarity, who respect their fellows, love and defend peace and human rights are prepared. It seeks to promote the highest levels of quality in teaching and in the comprehensive preparation of human beings, encouraging respect for cultural identity and inculcating values and principles that favor solidarity, social justice, mutual respect, love for the homeland and solid knowledge of humanity's historical, cultural and artistic heritage and of the customs of its peoples.

According to Chapter V on Education and Culture, Art. 39(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba approved in 1976 by referendum supported by over 95% of the citizens with the right to vote:

"Education is provided by the State, free of charge. It is founded on the discoveries and contributions of science, and on the closest relationship of study with life, work and production".

Also, according to Art. 51:

"Everyone has the right to education. This right is guaranteed by the existence of an extensive system of free regular schools, schools with catering facilities for the children of working parents, boarding schools and grants, covering all types and levels of education, as well as free educational materials. Thus every child and young person, regardless of the family's financial situation, has the opportunity of following a course of studies appropriate to his or her aptitudes, the needs of society and the demands of economic and social development.

" Adult men and women are guaranteed this right, also free of charge and with specific facilities prescribed by law, via adult education, technical and vocational education, training in occupational skills within firms and State agencies, as well as higher education courses for workers."

Basic principles of education in Cuba

1. The principle of the universal nature of education and equality of access to it: Education is a right and a duty of every Cuban citizen.

2. The principle of the linking of education with work: This is the linking of theory with practice, aiming at creating a productive, creative mindset among children and young people, eliminating the prejudices associated with making a distinction between manual and intellectual work.

3. The principle of democratic participation by society as a whole in the tasks of education: regards society as a large school and education as a lifelong process. Requires the participation of the social and mass-membership organizations and NGOs in the educational process, in the framing of education strategy, in matters of control and in decision-making, in ways that extend to all levels of society.

4. The principle of coeducation and of schools open to diversity: Men and women are guaranteed access to centers of learning in all the specializations and professions offered by the system. There is no discrimination on grounds of skin color, family income level or the political opinions or ideas of pupils or their relatives.

5. The approach to gender: Observance of girls' and women's basic right of access to the education system, bearing in mind the importance of a mother's educational level in the education of her offspring.

6. The principle of differentiated attention and educational integration: Attention is differentiated according to the needs and abilities of each pupil.

7. The principle of no fees: Education is free at all levels.

The Cuban education system has passed through three key phases or stages since January 1, 1959. The first was that of the national literacy campaign mentioned earlier, a period during which illiteracy as a social phenomenon was eradicated, while at the same time the need for teachers and classrooms to guarantee universal primary education was met, covering not just the children but also the relevant young and adult population segments in every part of the country.

The second stage focused on large-scale secondary schooling, which raised the educational level of the young and adult Cuban population to ninth grade.

The third stage, still ongoing, represents a profound educational revolution aimed at making higher education universal and ensuring the development of a comprehensive general culture among the entire population, thereby realizing the idea of Jose Martí expressed in the precept that "social equality is impossible without equality of culture".

Since the year 2000, a veritable revolution within the educational revolution that started in January 1959 has been underway, with the basic aim of achieving a leap in the quality of education, by guaranteeing access to study opportunities for everyone. A veritable revolution has been produced in the conception, organization, foundations, educational methods and aids, involving intensive use of new technology accompanied by a more active role for the educator. He or she interacts with and more directly and effectively molds smaller groups of pupils, via an educational effort that is personalized and differentiated for all the girls and boys, adolescents and young people, taking account of the peculiarities and special requirements of each student.

It is believed that all Cubans can achieve a comprehensive general cultural standard, through improvement of the scholastic environment, installation of modern computing equipment, televisions and VCRs, the application of the new information and communications technologies, reduction of class sizes, extending and broadening the opportunities for university studies throughout the country, among other changes. At the same time, this process addresses the strategic challenge of preparing human beings with a sense of solidarity and internationalism, deeply human ethics, and readiness to join the struggle against poverty, discrimination and injustice.

This process is subject to constant monitoring and analysis with a view to its improvement and is characterized by the widest possible participation of every segment and level of the Cuban population. One of the basic mottos of the 1961 literacy campaign expressed its essence: "Those who do not know shall learn. Those who know shall teach". In the last analysis, we all have the right and duty to learn and to teach, constantly and throughout our lives.
The Revolution's educational programs have received all the material support the nation has been able to afford. Funding for education has risen significantly since the revolutionary victory. The education budget for 2006 amounts to 4,989 million pesos, compared with 79.4 million in the 1957-58 academic year - a 63-fold increase. Despite the country's economic difficulties, the budget has increased 2.4 times since 1990. Over 24% of government spending in 2006 is earmarked for financing activities planned in the education sector.

Cuban experience in the field of education and its results ―an expression of the political will to make schooling universal and achieve comprehensive general culture in Cuba― have also been recognized by various international institutions and agencies.

Cuba has amply fulfilled the six objectives of the Education For All (EFA) program, formulated by UNESCO in 2000 with a view to their achievement worldwide by 2015. UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report for 2005 cites Cuba as the country in the Latin American & Caribbean region with the best results in terms of compliance, according to the EFA Development Index (EDI), which provides a concise indicator of the situation of each country as regards four of the six defined goals of the EFA program.

In an international study of primary education by the Latin American Education Quality Evaluation Laboratory, Cuba obtained the best results among the 12 Latin American countries covered by the survey. At fourth and fifth grade, Cuban children showed almost double the knowledge in languages and mathematics of the children in the rest of Latin America and the United States. The organization mentioned recognized Cuba as one of the world's four top-performing nations in the field of education. For its part, UNICEF has also endorsed Cuba's efforts and successes in education, as well as our consistent application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Our ranking among the countries with high levels of human development, reflected in a Human Development Index of 0.817, according to the 2005 UNDP report is another recognition at international level for the achievements of the Cuban Revolution. This indicator reflects the high rates of adult literacy and enrolments in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

The average level of general education among the Cuban adult population is above ninth grade, while illiteracy remains pegged at a residual 0.2%.

Cuba has complied fully with targets 3 and 4 of the Millennium Development Goals, respectively "Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling" and "Eliminate gender disparity in ... education no later than 2015".

Currently there are 67 Cuban schools included in UNESCO's Associated Schools Project Network.

Cuban social policy on education: New stage in the education revolution

"(...) We are now seeking what in our judgement should and will be an educational system which increasingly reflects equality, full justice, self respect and the moral and social needs of Cubans (…)" (Fidel Castro, September 2002).

Social policy relating to the educational sphere involves ongoing consolidated programs of proven effectiveness, including those for pre-school, primary and secondary education. Since 2000, more flexible measures have been deployed with a view to achieving maximum possible fairness under the social policy without abandoning the principle of universalization. A group of prioritized social programs was launched in the education and other sectors with two key aims: to support underprivileged groups and to promote the development of human capital.

The computerization of society and the raising of the comprehensive general culture of the entire population are among the programs set in motion; these also form part of the new stage of the education revolution now underway.

The education revolution undertaken by the country is not restricted to just another round of improvements in the Cuban education system. It constitutes a different approach to the question of raising the quality of the education process, by equipping it with the resources it needs for greatest effectiveness and constant improvement in the quality of learning. All this leads to a revision of the concepts underlying Cuban educational sciences, notably teaching and didactics, which must favor a new approach to the educational process, which in its turn will enable the system to respond more rapidly to the important goals and needs imposed by the information society.

Among the measures adopted within the framework of the education revolution are the following: looking after for individual, differentiated teaching needs of primary-school pupils; bringing levels of equipment of rural schools (computing and audiovisual aids) up to the standard of their urban counterparts; guaranteeing special education for handicapped children, however severe their disability; improving school lunches and snacks for all pupils; providing differentiated teaching at the general secondary level; ensuring continuity of education among young people completing 9-year compulsory schooling, offering new subjects such as computing, art instruction and social work; promoting open access to higher education by setting up university-level education centers in every borough and offering free enrolment, opening up opportunities for advanced studies; paying salaries to university students who follow regular daytime courses (50% of whom get free meals and accommodation).

The Cuban government assigns a high priority to the promotion and education programme aimed at the public at large and at vulnerable groups, via measures taken with intersectorial and community participation. The coverage of the alternative community programs responding to specific interests in various sectors of the population has been extended. Broadening of preventive education has been achieved by use of television and large-scale printing of low-cost educational matter on health and other issues, involving further development of the Prevention & Control Programme which brings together education strategies in general and relating to sex education for young people in particular. The latter focuses on combating AIDS, other sexually-transmitted diseases, drug abuse, alcoholism and smoking. Other measures have addressed foreign-language teaching, cultural and artistic education, scientific and technological development, education of the very young. The principles of sustainable development have been reflected in national policies and programs, involving enhanced measures to bolster environmental education and community participation.

The current ratio of teachers to population is one per 36.8 inhabitants, the highest in the world. Overall, the education system employs over 332,000 teaching personnel, a number set to grow in future years. Disparities in education between the sexes have already been eliminated; around 71% of Cuba's teachers are female. The latter currently number around 240,000, compared with a bare 30,000 in 1959. At primary level, the children are divided equally between boys and girls, while the balance favors the latter at the second and tertiary levels. Progress is being maintained on the programme to convert, extend and repair the school premises network.

The ongoing programme for computerizing society aims at mass application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) across all spheres of the country's economic and social life. This has contributed to enhancing skills in use and access by all students of the benefits of the new technologies, especially the information and communications technologies. Since 2002, computing has been taught at every level of the education system in Cuba, accompanied by the training of tens of thousands of programmers. The programme has involved installing solar panels to provide electricity supply at 2,368 schools, of which 93 have only one or two pupils.

Computers available to the Cuban education system during the academic year 2004-05 numbered 65,000. The audiovisual program that introduced the use of TV and video as teaching aids in every classroom is still underway. The two TV channels basically dedicated to education cover over 85% of the population; each of these broadcasts for over 15 hours daily. They have had a considerable impact on teaching at the various levels and have enabled standards of knowledge and culture among the entire population to be raised. Programming of classes by television, designed for children, adolescents and young people according to the relevant psychological and educational precepts, includes material relating to a diversity of cultural, scientific, legal and social subjects during school hours.

Education programmess for adults include the University for Mature Adults, developed in concert with the universities and trade union and social organizations, with the aim of improving the quality of life of those over 60 years - a rapidly growing segment given the rising life expectancy of Cubans. There are already 636 centers teaching under this scheme; some 30,000 mature adults completed courses at these in the academic year 2004-05.

Enrolments in the primary, secondary, technical and professional education sectors have totaled over 2.8 million in the academic year 2005-06, including an intake of half a million in higher education. These are spread throughout Cuba across 13,400 schools and other centers of learning, of which 1,200 have between one and five children living in the rural sector. All have teachers, televisions, VCRs and computers, creating conditions analogous to those enjoyed by the school population in the towns.

Universal primary education

In Cuba, universal primary education is a fait accompli. Since the 1990s, enrolments at this level have approached 100% of the population in the relevant age group (6-11 years). The net attendance rates are very high for both boys and girls. 99.4% of the primary-school age population is enrolled in the primary and special schools; the corresponding percentages in the academic year 2004-05 for boys and girls are 99.8% and 98.8% respectively. According to the census taken in 1953, the rate of school attendance in this age range was just 55.1%.

Factors that have contributed to improving these indicators include the scheme addressing the 0-5 age group, whose coverage via institutional and non-institutional means exceeds 99%. Among current priorities is a focus on raising quality by enhancing the inter-sectorial nature of the education process and improving the preparation of teachers, families, health workers, social organizations and agencies and other community elements.

Promotion efforts among the children have contributed to making schooling at this level universal. Pupil retention is nearly 100%, while repeating of academic years shows a declining trend. Since 1999, over 98% of pupils entering first grade have remained through fifth grade, a result broadly common to both sexes. Continuity of studies among those completing sixth grade is virtually total; 100% in every year since 2000, with the same picture across the various provinces. The levels reflecting the universal coverage of primary education among the provinces are converging rapidly.

Improvements in school organization include fixing the maximum class size at 20 in primary education, enabling a closer pupil-teacher relationship favoring more personalized teaching. Combined with the higher retention rate and the broadcasting of over 30 programmes to bolster the curriculum, the results include a three-fold improvement in learning.

Via the Para la Vida (For Life) program, adopting a forward-looking, inter-sectorial approach, community workshops with the participation of boys and girls and professional training courses staged by the local authorities and universities —in the throes of a process of integration that progresses year by year― significant advances have been made in recognition and observance of the rights of childhood and in according them a leading role in the schooling system and in the community.

The facilities for instruction in computing include the centers operated by the Joven Club de Computación (young people's computing club), a scheme that has vastly increased the number of available machines. The number of centers is growing all the time; 186 were completed in 2005 alone. Now, all children from pre-school to university level have access to computing laboratories.

Intensive training of a total of 12,958 teachers of computing, combined with other factors including the development of educational software packages for all the schools, has enabled the teaching of computing to be undertaken at every level from pre-school to university. All primary-school teachers have taken training courses in the subject.

There is a television for every classroom, a VCR for every one hundred pupils and 24,000 computers at the level of primary schooling. These facilities at the service of education dramatically boost our children’s learning. Not a single child in the whole of Cuba is without access to these modern media. The schools that were without electricity are now equipped with solar panels to power the computer, the television and the VCR.

At a cost of less than four million dollars, electricity supply was installed at all the rural schools, so that country children could also benefit from teaching supported by the use of visual aids.

Of the more than13,400 schools and other seats of learning nationwide, 1,200 have between one and five children resident in the rural sector. All have teachers, televisions, VCRs and computers, creating conditions analogous to those enjoyed by the school population in the towns.

Over the last six years, some 7,000 projects generated by the Battle of Ideas have been completed. Following these specific initiatives in the education sector, involving repair and extension of school premises, by the end of the academic year 2004/05, the number of primary schools in use totaled 9,029.

The programme of reforms in primary teaching has resulted in highly beneficial changes in school organization, reflected in an incidence of 99.1% of pupils covered by the 'double session' (morning and afternoon attendance) system, while teacher headcount is maintained at one (or more) per 20 pupils. This involved stepping up the training program leading to degrees in primary and pre-school education, introducing 30 pre-university vocational training courses in education science in various parts of the country and boosting the intensive teacher-training scheme.

In the three-year period 2002-04 alone, 44,979 new teachers and lecturers were trained - the equivalent of 11 graduations from the normal daytime courses at the teacher training institutes between 1988 and 2000.

English is taught from the third grade on, using video-based classes. A very large number of children learn chess at school, where they can also benefit from the work of cultural instructors. All attend classes designed to stimulate appreciation of art and creativity, based on the efforts of art instructors whose number has risen to 6,318 nationwide following a second graduation. A similar or larger number of such instructors will be added every year to work in the educational sector and in the community's other cultural and social institutions.

Catering standards providing meals in the schools have been improved, and are available in the vast majority of schools where such a service is needed.

Double-session (a.m. and p.m.) school attendance has been consolidated and the quality of the teaching process has been significantly improved. Our primary school children now learn math and Spanish at rates 2.2 times and 1.5 times faster respectively than 4 years ago; these figures are bound to improve even more as planned development of the education system proceeds. The real opportunities for access to knowledge and to develop physical and mental abilities are offered on an equal footing to all children, wherever they live and whatever their skin color and social origins.

The transformations brought about in primary education have been achieved with a modest investment of resources which have been deployed intelligently and fairly, with the overriding aim of giving the same opportunities to all children everywhere in the country.

The path to excellence in secondary education

In 2005, the transformations produced in secondary education were consolidated, while similar progress was made in the pre-university education sector. The new approach generated by the education revolution has increased the degree of differentiation in teaching students during the difficult stage of adolescence, by ensuring a closer pupil-teacher relationship. This process has favored high rates of retention and commitment in the basic secondary education segment, in sharp contrast with the conditions of deep crisis affecting this level internationally.

Schooling among the 6 to 14-year-olds (basic education to ninth grade) has risen from 55.6% according to the 1953 population census, to 99% in 2005.

The program of radical changes in secondary teaching is marked by the teaching personnel that comprise the body of Comprehensive General Teachers, tasked with directing the learning of all subjects except foreign languages and physical education. These efforts have enabled a reduction of the maximum class size to 15 in basic secondary education. Each teacher at this level remains with the same pupils for the three years of the course, facilitating personalization of the teaching process and a consequent improvement in the quality of learning.

Such a teacher is an instructor, educator and private tutor for each pupil. Students are thus freed of the burden of having a large number of teachers, one for each of the various subjects, a situation which also impedes logical integration of knowledge. This revolutionary approach has also led to improvements in school-family relations, enabling more effective cooperation; it has even resulted in changes in attitude by many parents towards their children and how they are treated at home.

Extension of the 'double session' system to all schools, including the provision of free meals and the generalized use of television, video and computers are further benefits of the education revolution at secondary level. Math, Spanish, History, English and Physics are taught via video-based classes developed by the country's most celebrated teachers, providing invaluable support to the local teacher and improving the relevant subject content in terms of both quality and depth. The frequency of Math, Computing, Spanish and History lessons has been increased so that the pupils receive more instruction and learning occurs more intensively.

Teaching personnel in the academic year 2005/06 will include over 5,000 teachers trained at the Intensive Schools for Comprehensive General Teacher Training. Having constructed 567 new classrooms at 98 schools in 2004, another 78 general education establishments were completed in the following year, as were 45 kitchen-dining facilities, to ensure that all the adolescent basic-secondary pupils and their teachers received a daily lunch or snack.

As part of the transformations at this level of the education system, basic secondary pupils receive a free snack or meal, to fortify them for the longer 'double-session' school day; this also improves safety arrangements because they do not need to leave the premises until the end of the school day. With the 45 new kitchen-dining facilities completed in 2005, pupils at the schools previously excluded from this programme will be receiving its benefits.

Today more than 98% of the total enrolment of secondary students receive a free lunch and snack while the remainder are entitled to a free snack.

The results attained in the universalization of primary and basic secondary education allow for very high rates of literacy - over 99% regardless of sex - in the 15-24 age group. Efforts are being directed at ensuring that all pupils who complete ninth grade stay on to the twelfth grade or beyond.
Each secondary school and pre-university college has at least one of the 6,318 art instructors who graduated from the schools founded in the heat of the early debates arising from the Battle of Ideas. These professionals promote culture and introduce our young people to a world of great art and to the traditions of Cuba and of other countries.

The main effects on pre-university education (tenth through twelfth grades) of the program of changes included reducing to 30 the size of the groups under the charge of a comprehensive general teacher, the installation of the equipment (televisions and VCRs) needed for video-based classes and special lectures, provision of more computers and the introduction of 19 teaching-support software applications. In both the higher general education and technical/professional training spheres, a combination of specialized teachers are being deployed, applying the principle of specialized teaching.

The residential capacity of the pre-university colleges is being expanded, given the growth in the student population at this level to some 98,500 students - the highest in 20 years.

The situation of young people in the 17-30 age group who left school after having completed ninth grade and are unemployed has been successfully addressed by introducing the Comprehensive Training Course for Young People. In every borough, the schools that operated during normal teaching hours within the general education system were used, provided in some cases with new teaching staff or retired teachers recalled for the purpose and supported by visual aids. This study-as-employment scheme involves paying the students a regular wage while they take the course.

Under the programme covering the restoration of rural pre-university colleges, 25 have been completed, while another 22 are scheduled for completion in early 2006, a year in which investment in these centers will be continued. The refurbishing programme includes the restoration of 9 teaching centers, while the rest of the premises in this network will be ready by the end of this year. Impressive investments have been made in 26 computing polytechnical schools, which are proving highly popular among young persons and their families. Apart from the construction operations, these centers have been equipped with the technology essential for intensive training in this field.
Special education for all handicapped and children and adolescents with special needs. Special arrangements for other socially-disadvantaged groups

Schooling for girls and boys with special educational needs is characterized by 100% coverage and some key successes in a process of revising its precepts and increasing its integration with pre-school and primary education, thereby widening its horizons. The system is more than a network of specialized schools and similar institutions; it also includes various bases of care, resource aids, guidance and training services, available to boys and girls at risk or with special educational needs, in terms of the families, teachers, health service workers and in the community as a whole, with the ultimate aim of stimulating and promoting maximum overall development of every individual and their integration into society under the best possible conditions.

Every child with a physical or mental disability has a special school to attend. Total enrollments in such schools presently number 55,000. All such children are looked after, without underestimating their problems and according to the nature of their disability.

The Cuban Revolution can take satisfaction from the knowledge that, despite the embargo imposed by Washington, there is not a single child with special educational needs who has been left without a school to attend. The efforts of the Cuban government in this connection mean that tens of thousands of children, adolescents and other young people all over the country who need special teaching have access to some 430 schools employing around 14,000 specially-trained teachers, enabling the requirements of every case to be met.

The present conditions are a far cry from those prevailing in the academic year 1958/59, when there were just eight special schools, in Havana, Las Villas, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba. These looked after a total of 134 children and employed just 20 persons with some degree of training, in centers that were mostly run privately or by some institution.

Special education in Cuba dates from 40 years ago, following the setting up in 1962 of the Department of Special Education tasked with providing in the best way possible for children with special educational needs, tailored to their individual abilities. The aims included promoting self-esteem among the pupils and preparing them for active life within the community.

Prior to the Revolution, this type of education was non-existent in Cuba.

Since 1962, special education in Cuba has been a complete system, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the educational, psychological, physical and medical needs in every single case, of which there are currently some 55,000.

Considerable advances have been made in study and research into hereditary diseases, with a view to diagnosis at an early age, to supporting the carriers and the victims and to finding ways of breaking the chain of transmission of some of the 80 diseases in this category.

Children with special educational needs have also benefited from new, modern teaching methods. The audiovisual and computing programs that are being also employed for special education have proven to be highly effective. Three years have passed since the opening of the first school for autistic children, a disability which has been neglected in almost every other country.

Cuba now produces specialized devices such as Video/Voice, MEDICID, NEURONICA and, more recently, AUDIC equipment, which provide substantial support for special teaching. AUDIC technology has proven its effectiveness in Colombia, Mexico and China, countries where laboratories could be set up for early detection of hearing loss.

In 1990, a Latin American Reference Center for Special Education was opened in Cuba, while a degree course in special education had produced over 10,000 graduates by the end of 2004.

Throughout the country, the special schools also adopt the '20 maximum' rule for class sizes. There are also special kindergartens, reception centers and hospital wards. Over 1,000 pupils are taught at home by visiting teachers.

Nationally, the special facilities include 13 or so kindergartens, 42 reception centers, 23 hospital wards, 664 special classrooms in primary schools, 15 mixed circles and some 32 children's homes which also look after youngsters with special educational needs. Meantime, over 1,200 pupils are taught at home, thanks to the selfless work of hundreds of visiting teachers who give classes not only in the towns and easily-accessible areas, but also in remote, mountainous localities where it is difficult for children with severe difficulties to receive regular schooling.

The system of special education for the handicapped has facilitated the resolution of critical situations relating to the care of these citizens and their families. It has enabled warnings of risk of hereditary diseases to be given, while in 2005 it enabled 6,052 mothers to dedicate themselves full time to the care of their severely handicapped children while receiving the same pay they would have earned in their normal employment.

Systematic care is also offered to all children diagnosed as having nutritional problems. There is a programme that monitors the weight and height of all children up to age 15.

A comprehensive survey of the nation's children conducted last year enabled assessment of the movements in variables that included nutritional status, education, home environment and living conditions. The results are being used in applying measures to improve differentiation of care at the levels of the child, classroom, school, neighborhood, borough and province.

The Cuban revolution strives constantly to build socialism without forgotten or marginalized people. The Social Workers Training Program included setting up a national network of training centers for social workers that covers the whole country. To date, some 28,000 people have graduated from these.

The young people completing the course, whose numbers are growing year by year, are organized into teams that operate at the level of the local councils, and identify cases that call for special attention from the community and the national and local government agencies operating the welfare system. On qualifying, each social worker is guaranteed direct access to various university courses related to his or her multi-faceted activities.

In 2000, there were just 795 social workers. Every year, another 7,000 young people are trained for the purpose, using new teaching concepts, not just in the specialized colleges but also in their boroughs, in "school homes", involving the use of televisions, VCRs and computers, under the guidance of experienced, committed teachers. Pupils at the Escuelas de Conducta (behavior schools) are looked after by social workers, who are charged with organizing action by the community to change the causes and conditions underlying the social disadvantages and behavioral disorders among these adolescents.

The first psycho-social, psycho-educational and clinical-genetic study at national level in 2003, involved a survey covering 366,864 persons with motor, sensory, organic and other disabilities, including mental retardation. Over 30,000 science professionals and managerial and support personnel participated nationwide.

Under the principle of justice and equality that marks the work of the Cuban Revolution, access to the schools by young disabled people has been facilitated, involving adaptation of curricula to enable these institutions to meet such commitments without compromising the quality of the instruction provided.

The advanced comprehensive course for young people aged 17-30 with a Grade Nine education but out of school and unemployed provides them with advanced, all-round education while receiving an allowance appropriate to their age and circumstances. Over 150,000 have benefited from the scheme. 48,406 persons, have completed such courses and have gone on to various university studies with highly favorable results.

In Cuba, special teaching and, more generally, teaching of those from socially-disadvantaged groups, is progressing in step with all the other programs underway within the framework of the education revolution.

Open access to higher education

In Cuba, higher education has been transformed to place it at the service of the people. At this level in the system, the contribution of scientific research has been stepped up and postgraduate education has been consolidated.

In 2005, the number of students enrolled in higher education amounted to some 500,000, compared with 380,000 the year before and a record for Cuba's higher education system.

This increase of university entrance is associated with the Program for Open Access to Higher Education, involving the establishment of 2,133 university-level teaching centers in the country's 169 boroughs, supplementing Cuba's existing 65 universities. Large-scale extension of tertiary studies has continued, based on the extended deployment at borough level of the human capital within the universities. This enabled raising university enrolments to some 500,000 students. Around 360,000 Cubans of all ages are following courses in these centers, with a choice of 46 subjects taught by a total of 95,500 open-access lecturers, including 65,000 assistant professors and tutors.

In accordance with the strategy for achieving excellence in the education process, Cuba is undertaking a program of systematic training and advancement covering the over 95,000 persons on the teaching staff of the universities, while prioritizing the use of new education technology.

The radical revolution in this type of education has brought the universities closer to the man in the street. Open access to higher education means the possibility of university studies for all the young people leaving the Revolution's social programmes and for workers in general.

This programme has provided unprecedented opportunities for young people and adults who formerly had no prospect of a higher education and who now identify with the revolutionary aim of creating a comprehensive general culture for all citizens regardless of their occupation.

There are now 800,000 Cuban citizens with university degrees, equaling two university graduates for every person that had reached the sixth grade at the time of the Revolution.

A firm and committed response to the considerable need for qualified teaching personnel is being provided by the over 65,000 lecturers and tutors participating in the open access programme trained by the Revolution nationwide.
A Masters degree in educational sciences has been launched as part of the strategy for implementing the transformation of the sector. This two-year course, in which over 73,000 lecturers and teachers are enrolled, aims at raising instruction standards.

Another fact that reflects Cuba's solid support for democratization of access to higher education is the over 50% of daytime-course enrolments financed by grants. 58.2% of the university student population is female.

University of the Future: the Digital City

The desire to establish centers of excellence in higher education prompted the setting up of the University of Computing Sciences, the first institution of its kind to emerge from the programmes associated with the Battle of Ideas being fought by our people.

The mission of this new seat of learning, which takes the number of Cuba's higher-education establishments to 65, is to train professionals to a high level of scientific and technical competence. It is conceived as a support for the computerization of the country, for software development and for industrial services.

This prestigious university institution currently has a student body totaling 8,000, drawn from every borough in the country. Their courses reflect innovative ideas and revolutionary methods of working, which have rapidly produced significant advances in both learning and production activities. The planned capacity of Digital City is 10,000 students; intake is running at 2,000 per annum. Its teaching staff number over 300 senior lecturers drawn from 27 Cuban universities.

The spirit and the concepts deployed at this institution are to be extended to all the polytechnics in this sector. There are currently 26 such colleges, specializing in computing, throughout all the provinces, training over 40,000 programmers and similar professionals, who are participating in the development of a new range of Cuban software. Also, graduates teach classes in the 600-plus computing clubs nationwide, covering a variety of operating systems including Linux, as well as programming and web-page design.

The investments underway in the 26 computing polytechnics, involving the allocation of the necessary materials and equipment, form part of the latest of the series of programmes representing the social transformation generated by the Battle of Ideas.

The personnel dedicated to Cuban science and technological development numbered 78,497 in 2003 - a ratio of nearly 700 per 100,000 inhabitants. The total includes 6,965 holders of PhDs.

These revolutionary changes in the education sphere have been enormously significant for all Cuban families. The prospects for the advancement, safety and physical and mental development of their children, without exception, have been much enhanced.

The revolution now in progress in Cuba's education sector represents the main guarantee of a society increasingly marked by justice, solidarity and equity.

Culture

Towards a comprehensive general culture for the entire Cuban population

The ongoing process of revolutionary change in the education sector has spread into the sphere of the arts and ―in its widest sense― culture.

The events of 2005 showed that Cuba is progressing rapidly in the cultural and artistic spheres, towards a comprehensive general culture.

Among the most significant of last year's initiatives was the widespread movement supporting the call to ¨stop a further anti-Cuba manoeuvre¨ at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Commission, signed by more than 5,500 intellectuals from all over the world. This call to all the peoples of the world was designed to prevent new imperialist manoeuvres against Cuba and was joined by thousands of celebrities from every continent, including eight Nobel laureates, who with one voice demanded an end to the lies and the manipulation of the Human Rights Commission.

Other measures included drawing up a Letter to the US Attorney General demanding the release of our five heroic compatriots, now signed by over 5,000 celebrities including several Nobel laureates, as well the setting up of the ¨Benito Juárez¨ International Court in Mexico, with the participation of prestigious intellectuals from all over the world, which roundly condemned the US administration's acts against Cuba. Such are the gestures of solidarity evoked by our people's cause, among honest people with a sense of solidarity and justice.

Three thousand and two new arts instructors qualified in 2005, who are joined by 6,318 in the José Martí Brigade tasked with disseminating the various manifestations of art in schools and colleges throughout the land. Thanks to these and other cultural initiatives, over a million people are attending art appreciation and artistic creativity workshops, while the associated cultural movement has a membership of over 350,000.

Immersed in efforts to bring about a culture-oriented society that will enable us in the future to live basically on the fruits of our intellect, the new schools tasked with developing a comprehensive general culture have continued to work hard. Enrolments have risen steadily since the first year (2002), which saw an intake of 85,000 students. Since 2004, 35,000 of these young people have started university courses. As part of the Battle of Ideas programme, 1,806 youngsters who moved on from the Comprehensive Advanced Courses for unemployed youth, completed courses as Cultural promoters taught at the Advanced Cultural Training Centers run by the provincial cultural authorities.

Nationwide, there are now 600 young people's computing clubs. Expansion of this network has enabled the training of hundreds of thousands of Cubans in computing techniques.

Another firm step in the direction of comprehensive general culture for all was the 14th Annual International Book Fair, held in 2005. While the same event in 1992 (the 11th) toured 19 cities and was attended by some 2.2 million people, the 2005 edition visited 35 cities and attracted an attendance of over 4.8 million, who purchased more than 4 million volumes. The occasion is attended by publishers, writers and distributors from over 33 countries. More than 500 publishers from 30 countries will be represented at the 15th International Book Fair, to be held in 2006.

The stage arts, including drama and musical theatre, children's theatre, dance, circus and pantomime generated over 100 new productions, while a pantomime festival brought together artists from 39 nations.

Art instruction in its 63 centers and at every level continued to diversify, breaking new ground and bringing out new young talent in a wide variety of creative fields.

The society being developed today in Cuba is one of advanced grassroots knowledge and culture - a sharp contrast indeed with the situation prevailing before the Revolution.

There were academies and conservatories dedicated basically to teaching music, ballet and the visual arts. The fact that most of these were private meant that such instruction was almost entirely the prerogative of the children of the well-to-do. The profit motive tended to predominate over artistic and educational aims; combined with the meager aspirations of students who pursued such courses merely for the purposes of entertainment, decoration or social prestige and so this left little scope for serious education in the sphere.

One of the first signs of the transformation appeared in 1959, with the newly-acquired habit among Cubans of reading. Cuba ranks above several industrialized countries in publishing, while for many Cubans books have become an essential accompaniment to daily life.

The expansion of community culture into all walks of life continued during 2005. In remote hamlets with no electricity, solar-panel technology has been applied to power 1958 'television rooms', providing information, recreation and access to and enjoyment of educational, cultural and recreational programs to over half a million Cubans living in these areas which are the last to still lack such services in the country.

Last year was also marked by an increase in the number of titles offered by the bookshops and by the stability and growth of Cuba's publishing houses. A new institution of this type, the Dulce María Loynaz Cultural Center was inaugurated; it is considered to be a center of national literary reference for the best of contemporary works and for the safeguarding of our heritage,

The nation's cultural heritage, the guarantee of sovereignty in a globalized world, was cherished and enhanced.

In Cuba, culture and science in all their manifestations are fostered and promoted. Freedom of artistic creation is encouraged, together with defense of Cuba's cultural identity and conservation of the nation's cultural heritage and artistic and historic wealth.

Culture in Cuba is also a mass phenomenon, which offers equal opportunities to every citizen to realize his or her potential. The Cuban government regards culture as one of the main sources of development, based on the spiritual, creative, emotional, moral and ethical richness it confers on society and on the nation's tangible and intangible heritage.

This conviction has led to the advancement in Cuba of an extremely wide variety of artistic, cultural and intellectual expression. These efforts have been redoubled in recent years via development programs aimed at promoting comprehensive general culture throughout the Cuban population.

From the early years of the Revolution and the National Literacy Campaign, the foundations were laid for far-reaching cultural development, including the establishing of several key cultural institutions. Among these were: a national publishing system, which has promoted books and reading on a massive scale; an art instruction system applying the highest standards and with a broad popular base; a system of local cultural centers; national institutes and other agencies tasked with promoting the various branches of art.

The country has hosted important festivals and other events which with their improved organization have enjoyed better participation in terms of both quantity and quality. These have contributed to dissemination of the best of Cuban culture and have become platforms for exchange, debate and artistic production. Such events include: the Festival of New Latin American Cinema, the International Ballet Festival, the Contemporary Art Salon, the Cucalambeana Day in Las Tunas; the Poor Cinema Festival in Gibara, the Cienfuegos Benny Moré Festival, the Caribbean Festival in Santiago de Cuba, the Romerías de Mayo and Festival of Latin American Culture in Holguín.

A succession of progressively larger budgets for culture has reflected the high priority accorded to development in this sphere. The amount set aside for such purposes in 2006 is, at 121 million, 117% more than that for the previous year. This increase is basically intended to support programs aimed at extending culture to the farthest corners of the land.

Cuban culture is growing on solid and deeply humanistic foundations

The spiraling progress towards a true comprehensive general culture in Cuba reflects aims of promoting development of a culture that is not only artistic but also historical, scientific, economic, geographic, environmental and representative of the widest possible range of fields of knowledge, with a deep humanist meaning. The country is passing through an impressively creative stage in all the manifestations of art.

Values are being formed on ethical bases, based on initiatives of the citizens themselves, in contrast with many countries in which these arise haphazardly.

The noble aim of the Cuban state to take culture into every corner of the island is reflected in the priorities set by the Ministry of Culture and its provincial and borough branches:

 Creation and promotion of art and literature nationwide; participation by creative people in the life of the relevant institutions.
 Design and implementation of a wide range of quality cultural programs in close consultation with national, provincial and municipal institutions, with the aim of meeting growing popular demand.
 Enhancement, preservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage.
 Fostering the work of cultural institutions within the community, with the participation of the various social forces that support community efforts in the cultural sphere.
 Focusing on the system of instruction in the arts and general development of the personnel concerned.
 Introduction and application of new information and communications technologies to the development and dissemination of culture.
 Maintaining good relations with the media, as one of the basic channels for informing the public and educating public taste.
 Promoting Cuban culture in the world at large.
 Encouraging production and marketing of culture-related goods and services.

The setting up of schools for arts instructors in all the provinces, to train thousands of young people in the specializations of music, the visual arts, theater and dance, who after graduation would teach in schools and communities, has provided continued impetus for the arts education program for schools and the general public. The arts instructors programme launched in 2000 started with a mere 2000 instructors nationwide. As the sixth arts instructor training course is taking place, the number of young people now in the program totals 22,000 (between students doing their 'practicals' in the education system and graduates joining the centers mentioned).

Currently, the arts instructors are teaching a total of 480,526 children and adolescents during teaching hours and 85,599 in artistic creation workshops. Reaffirming the cultural and occupational development of Cuban womanhood, females continue to outnumber males, accounting for 64.5% of the student population. Around half of the future arts instructors have working-class backgrounds. This commitment to educating artistic talent and art appreciation is complemented by the efforts of the Casas de Cultura, which are attended by some 227,390 children and adolescents. This total is set to rise dramatically over the next few years, when the arts instructors currently undergoing training are teaching in all the school and community centers across the nation.

As part of the general extension of humanitarian culture, a program has been launched to develop a network (called Video Club Juvenil) of video and film community centers with an emphasis on programming for children, adolescents and young people. The members of the groups corresponding to the various forms of artistic expression are penetrating the remotest corners of the nation to carry their illuminating message.

Consistent with the way the Family Library has contributed with its collections at affordable prices to the Cuban public and given access to the best of Cuban and world literature, the 'Libertad' publishing programme supplied over 800,000 volumes to the schools - mainly dictionaries, encyclopedias and works of universal literature.

The National Reading Programme continues to progress, as a permanent strategy rather than as a finite campaign. It includes a package of measures to support long-term development involving the whole of Cuban society in terms of both participation and results. Another feature of the programme is the proposed coordination of the efforts of all the agencies, institutions, groups and individuals throughout Cuba interested in promoting books and reading among our population. The two new, modern large-capacity printing presses acquired, together with availability of resources for repair and modernization of the installations operated by the national print union, have also contributed to the progress achieved under this programme.

Six years have gone by since the inception of the programme launching the television-based Open University, whose courses are taught by prestigious Cuban specialists and contribute on a massive scale to the creation of a comprehensive general culture. The courses are arranged in subject-based streams, namely Science, Foundation Subjects, Languages and Appreciation of the Arts. Up to the end of last year, 43 courses had been broadcast representing 1721 hours of content. Six courses are being broadcast at the present time. Between courses completed and currently broadcast, the number of lecturers involved has amounted to 775, including 265 holding PhDs and 134 with Masters degrees.

The four TV channels, of which two are educational, broadcast 57,016 hours of programming monthly. The educational channel broadcasts, which are received in all the provincial capitals, other large towns and much of the rest of the country, account for over 62% of total national broadcast hours. Their daily output includes 15-20 hours of educational material, mostly destined for syllabus support and contributing to elevating our people's cultural level.

Seventy-eight radio stations operate in Cuba, including 58 at borough level, 17 provincial, 8 national and one international. Monthly broadcasts total 502,787 hours.

In five years, 457,840,862 copies of books, tabloid publications, leaflets and other printed matter have been produced for the various programmes and missions. Examples include:

• 41,025,778 books, tabloid publications and leaflets for the teacher training programs
• 15,979,198 books for the Book Fairs
• 35,371,157 tabloid publications for the Round Table Discussions
• 15,905,758 Open University tabloid publications.

Development of cultural institutions in the boroughs

An extensive network of cultural institutions throughout Cuba renders its services to the Cuban public. There are currently 375 bookshops, 23 'trova' (traditional music) centers, 224 video rooms, 404 public libraries, 290 museums, 131 art galleries, 74 theaters and similar facilities, 350 cultural centers and two circus big tops. The number of cultural installations in service rose during 2005; in the case of the cultural centers, the increase amounted to 4%, art galleries 8 %, theaters 11% and trova centers 5%.

The growth in activity throughout the cultural institutions nationwide in 2005 resulted in an 8% increase of the population able to benefit directly from such services, compared with the previous year.

The art-lovers movement has also grown: membership in the 350 cultural centers now stands at around 100,000.

Some 3,110 professional promoters of culture were practicing in 2005, at people's councils, in districts and other population centers. During 1995-2002, 410 promoters completed training courses specifically designed for these purposes. Those enrolled for the 2003/04 academic year numbered 3,654, including 1,874 who had gone on from comprehensive further education for the young unemployed.

The efforts of the Revolution to achieve a comprehensive general culture for all have resulted in the creation of, at least one museum in each of the nation's 169 boroughs. Cuba's museum network has evolved as a factor of considerable cultural value for our people. The number of museum visitors reached 6.1 million in 2005.

The public libraries with their stock of some 17.3 million copies served over 9.9 million users in the year under review.

Solid improvements in the teaching of the arts

The National School of the Arts was founded in 1962 and marked the inception of the national system of instruction in the arts, based on the same principles of democratization applied by the Revolution to education as a whole, namely without discrimination on grounds of class, sex or race and with the right to receive this expensive, specialized teaching free of charge. This educational program, which is constantly being improved, has attained international recognition for the high quality of its graduates and for the originality of its conception, curricula, teaching staff and technical-artistic rigor.

Cuba currently has 20 basic-level arts colleges, 29 mid-professional level colleges and 15 centers for training young people whose talent for instruction has emerged thanks to the boost that has been given to this branch of education. Cuba's cultural successes are founded on a structure for instruction in the arts whose apex is the Higher Institute of Art (ISA). This seat of learning is a jewel of Cuban artistic culture; work is currently at the final stages of a major refurbishing of its premises.

The programme of arts instructors' schools launched in 2000 with a view to training some 30,000 art instructors over the ensuing ten years has reached a total of 15 such colleges located in all the provinces and on the Isla de la Juventud. These schools have had a significant impact on Cuban education in the arts sector. The student body currently numbers 15,724; those studying music number 4,256, visual arts 4,054, dramatic arts 3,651 and dance 3,763. Another 2,950 instructors (799 teaching general subjects and 2,151 specific arts) joined the original teaching staff of 1,111. Beyond the skills inherent to their specialties, the young students are acquiring a wide range of knowledge of the other arts, of literature and of Cuban and world history.

The contributions of artists and intellectuals participating in this training task has been invaluable, as has been the support of over 370 recent graduates from the Musical and Visual Arts Education faculties of the higher education institutes, who have also joined the teaching staff of the new schools.

Those completing courses at the arts instructors' training schools may take up further studies in any subject or course in the Humanities syllabus or specialization or other course at the Higher Teaching Institutes. In higher education, a bachelor’s degree in education, arts instructor specialty, is also being introduced, under close cooperation between the Ministries of Education, Culture and Higher Education. In this context, the role of the existing 2,531 art instructors during many years has been a significant one.

Of the 3,092 arts instructors who graduated in October 2005, 60.4% were female and 39.5% male; most were from working-class families. Of those taking part in the two graduations from these schools, 6,147 instructors have chosen to go on to higher studies, including 3,555 candidates for the bachelor's degree, specialty arts instructor. The wealth of knowledge accumulated by this body will be of the greatest importance in pursuing our aims in terms of justice and equality of opportunity for all Cubans.

The 6,318 arts instructors who now comprise this body constitute the assurance that there will be at least one instructor in each of the 4,898 pre-school, primary, special, secondary and pre-university educational establishments in all the boroughs nationwide. Their work in these schools will focus on developing workshops for creative activity and art appreciation for all pupils, relations with groups and art-enthusiast clubs, technical and methodological preparation of teaching staff, promotion of artistic culture at the school and enhancement of the school environment.

Efforts to improve the system of arts instruction have led to increased enrolments in the arts schools. While in the academic year 2002/03 these stood at 3,833 (mid-level students under instruction in the arts) the corresponding number in 2005/06 is 5,064. Similarly, the student body attending the Higher Institute of Art (ISA) this academic year, at 1,435, is 12% larger than in 2002/03. Adding these to the 15,724 students at the arts instructor schools gives a total of 22,223 young people destined to swell the ranks of the artistic educators charged with the artistic-cultural preparation of the Cuban population.

Artists graduating this year from Cuba's schools of art at the intermediate and higher levels numbered 1,091.

In 1999, there were just 8 schools specializing in visual arts nationwide. Now, after extending this discipline to all the provinces, there are 17.

The National Ballet School (capacity 300 students) has been opened up to students from any province and has a current roll of 292. The vocational art workshops at the School started their fourth year with 4,000 children and adolescents from every Havana borough. Work continues on improving the teaching programmes undertaken there relating to ballet, dance, music and visual arts.. Other dance schools have similar programs.

As part of the programmes underlying the Battle of Ideas, 1,806 young people who had completed comprehensive further education courses for the unemployed recently graduated from cultural promoters' courses taught at the Advanced Cultural Training Centers run by the provincial cultural authorities.

The results of this process of improvement in the nation's cultural development have included consolidation of efforts to ensure that all Cubans have every possible opportunity to become cultured persons, as measured by the high standards set by Cuban society.

In the words of Cuba's Minister of Culture, Comrade Abel Prieto: "A cultured person nowadays is someone who has very solid cultural references and hierarchies, in such a manner that they cannot be deceived by fireworks or false idols; at the same time, this is someone who resists attempts to undermine their identity, their memory, someone who cannot be hypnotized or manipulated. This must be someone who understands the root of the contemporary world's problems, who is well versed in its traditions and history and has a decisive universal vocation."

The use of information technology in socio-cultural development

With its cultural development strategy based on community participation and fairness, Cuba has started to apply measures that turn information and communications technologies (ICTs) into tools of socio-cultural change.

Despite a conviction that the use of ICTs is the key to achieving a knowledge-based society and full rights for all its members on an equal footing, the embargo imposed by the United States poses constant difficulties for the development of these technologies in Cuba.

Cuba's late access to the internet resulted from a ban imposed by the United States until May 1994 on access by Cubans to websites. As is widely known, the administration of the Internet is subordinated to the US authorities, while the network itself is registered under American law.

As soon as it became possible to access the "network of networks", Cuba invested great efforts in exploiting it intensively, prioritizing access for social, scientific, cultural, academic and research purposes.

At the 600 young people's computing and electronics clubs, persons of any age can access not only computers but also courses of instruction on using them. Over a million people have benefited from these classes. Cuba's 169 boroughs are all equipped with fiber-optic connections, while each borough and population center has its young people's computing clubs. The proportion of the Cuban population with access to computers is estimated at 31% (2.5 million students, over 200,000 people frequenting the computing clubs and 800,000 workers).

As mentioned earlier, audiovisual aids and computers support teaching activity in all Cuban schools, including those in rural areas. As also previously stated, over 40,000 students are enrolled in programming and other technical courses in the field of computing. Creative use of the Internet and other ICTs aims at securing maximum social benefit. In culture alone, there are over 500 websites.

Internet access is made available at social, educational, cultural, academic, artistic and other establishments, in specialized or community contexts, to artists, intellectuals, writers and other creative Cubans.

Agreements reached with China involve the purchase of 100,000 computers annually, destined basically for teaching purposes (including adult education) and for advanced technical training among the large and growing number of senior technical and professional personnel nationwide.

The day of mass use of computing for world-wide dialogue is not far off. And no ethnic group has more to say or a better preparation for the purpose than the Cuban people, given their political culture and increasing efforts to master English and other foreign languages.
Despite these efforts, the present connection does not provide the bandwidth needed to meet national demand. The US embargo obliges Cuba to use a satellite connection which is both very expensive and more prone to interruption. The problem could be solved by the use of the network of undersea cables that skirt the island were it not for the opposition of the US authorities.

Similarly, the problems posed by the embargo over obtaining licenses to use proprietary software, coupled with having to pay prices at least 30% higher for equipment in alternative markets, are impeding development of a satisfactory computing infrastructure across the nation.

Cuba's ability to obtain Internet connection at a given speed with a given number of channels and providers does not depend on the will of the Cuban government - or even on whether it can afford the high fees involved. Every time Cuba attempts to add another Internet channel, the American firm concerned has to apply to the US Treasury Department for the appropriate license. Any US company prepared to provide a new service channel for Cuba, or to raise the connection speed on an existing link, must obtain a specific license for the purpose.

Sport. A right of the people

Recent growth in mass participation in sport as an enhancement of the quality of life of the population and free of charge for everyone is the result of the consistent policy implemented by the Cuban government in this sphere, which guarantees the practice of sport as a right of every citizen. This guarantee is another one of revolutionary Cuba's more significant successes in the field of human rights.

Before 1959, there was no state support for sporting activity with equal opportunities for young people of both sexes to develop their potential. It was restricted to those able to pay the fees of private clubs, to which the public were not admitted and which had a tiny female membership. Only 15,000 people - hardly any women or girls - practiced sport under the auspices of the sports associations. Sporting activity made a minimal contribution to all-round development of the individual.

Nowadays, 30% of the population has achieved optimal physical fitness as a result of extending this practice nationwide, while female participation has increased markedly. A key role in achieving the benefits has been played by the national education system which includes physical education on the syllabus and operates schools specializing in the subject.

Over 30,000 male and female teachers specializing in physical education are tasked with implementing the strategy for developing physical education and maintaining health standards in the community. Some 270 gymnasiums and therapy areas are frequented by students who, for reasons of ill health, cannot follow the normal curriculum. They have access to 28 programs operated in Cuba's 169 boroughs, without distinction as to sex. They also cover the program for promoting health and preventing illness which includes the elderly, mothers-to-be, nursing mothers, aerobics groups in the community and basic gymnastics for women. All these are part of the agreed development strategy.

Over 300,000 pupils are enrolled in the various school sports programs. They benefit from the availability of specialized physical education teachers who work with all pupils from first to sixth grade, a situation unique to Cuba.

Revolutionary Cuba has trained 52,314 specialists of this kind, the vast majority of which are still providing their invaluable services. In just two years, 2003 and 2004, 16,400 instructors were trained, via revolutionary methods of intensive training; another 5,570 completed the course in February 2005. These statistics contrast sharply with those for 1959, when there were only about 800 such teachers, providing their services to just 2% of the school population.

In 2005, there were 31,300 students following degree courses in physical education. Following the introduction of open access to undergraduate studies generally, centers offering such courses now number 240 nationwide. The relevant student population includes 370 convicts, who are following the course in 17 of Cuba's prisons.

The wide coverage of sports education derives from the Sports Teaching System set up by the Cuban state, involving a Physical Education Faculty in each province, a national Physical Education Institute, eight physical education teacher-training colleges and an International School of Physical & Sports Education.
The advances in this area which have followed the introduction of the Sports Teaching System at these centers are complemented by the founding of specialized coaching centers, such as the 17 Sports Initiation Schools (EIDEs), the Higher Schools for Athletes (ESPAs), the 87 provincial sports academies, and the three 'High-Performance Centers'.

The EIDEs are attended by primary- and secondary-school children who have done well in their physical education classes or inter-school competitions. They follow the same curriculum as the regular secondary schools but spend more time on physical education, with a view to developing the pupils' skills to the full. The ESPAs are for adolescents who have performed well at their EIDE and progress to the stage of refining their specialized technical skills. There is an ESPA in every province; they are attended by high-performing sportsmen and women from all over the country. These two types of school are the base of the pyramid of Cuba's high-performing athletes. Together with some 87 provincial sports academies, they provide the talent that will represent the country at the various international sporting events. The most specialized and intensive training of the nation's top athletes is carried out at three 'High-Performance Centers'.

The national network of sports installations, with services in all 169 boroughs, where an average of 15 sports are practiced, favors the growth of participation in sport among the population. There are over 2,000 baseball grounds, a sport for which Cuba has won the Olympic gold medal three times, while there is at least one modern stadium in each of the 14 provinces.

The National Baseball Series, the championship of Cuba's principal sport, involved 103 boroughs in 2003, while the total could reach 150 in 2005. The country has over 1,050 floodlit grounds for nocturnal sporting events.

The battle to recover, improve, exploit, conserve and maintain our sports facilities has been intensified, involving increased efforts to repair sports installations and areas. The emphasis has been on large-scale public participation in recreation and physical education, so as to widen the choice of alternatives for healthy use of leisure time, without forgetting the elderly at the day centers.

In 2003, 1,901 sports centers were renovated, including 370 covered halls. 100 new judo areas and a similar number of wrestling rings, fully equipped, were readied in 2005. 67 stadiums have been renovated.

Transformation of the sports training infrastructure is part of the Battle of Ideas being waged by our people. The programme for restoring sports establishments in Cuba got underway in 2004 with work on the EIDEs nationwide, given their importance to the all-round development of sport and its practitioners. Work was completed at some of the EIDE's that lacked gymnasia, indoor playing surfaces, running tracks and cycle tracks, while the swimming pool complexes at all these centers have been completed.

Work is underway on renovating the ESPAs, equipping them with sporting installations that comply with all the official requirements. Repairs to the intermediate-level schools should be completed during the first half of 2006, to be followed by similar works to the network of sports universities. The installations at the International School of Physical & Sports Education will be improved and further construction will enable its capacity to rise to 1,600 students. The sports education system will be equipped with first-class centers.

Substantial investments in sports equipment (boxing gloves, gauntlets, balls for soccer, volleyball, handball, water polo and baseball, etc.) have aimed at ensuring the revival of our main gymnasia and sports centers. It has also even proved possible to source most of these (generally expensive) items from the domestic sports industry. Sales by the latter totaled five million dollars in 2004, compared with 32,000 dollars in 1998.

The year 2005 saw the first graduation from the International School of Physical & Sports Education, involving 505 students from 48 nations. This school's current roll numbers 451 students from 74 nations. With its highly-qualified staff of teachers and trainers, the School opened its doors in 2001 and has 15 sports installations.

Cuban sport enjoyed considerable successes last year in various national and international competitions. Over 1,000 athletes participated in 163 events.

Successful editions of the National School Games and the 'Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas' Games, as well as the Para-Olympics, head the list of events staged in Cuba. These all involved the participation of foreign competitors.

The first 'Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas' Games covered 31 official and 7 exhibition sports, in 8 of Cuba's 14 provinces. 850 competitors from 19 other nations took part.

Cuba consolidated its position among the world's top sporting countries, taking 25 gold, 39 silver and 14 bronze medals in various first-class international competitions held in 2005.

The Cuban Revolution has also made headway in the field of anti-doping, with a view to cleaner and fairer sporting events. The Havana laboratory (opened in 2001) conducted 1,800 tests in 2005, at national and international events in Cuba and abroad - 300 more than the minimum set by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).

Based on the guarantee of sport as a right of all of its people, Cuba has achieved high standing at international level, with a distinguished performance record at the Olympic, continental and regional games. Significantly, since 1966, Cuba has led the field among the countries at the Central American Games, while during the 1990s it ranked among those at the top of the medal table at the Olympic Games. Specifically, Cuba kept its place among the top ten from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics onwards. At the Athens Olympics in 2004, it ended with an honorable eleventh place.

The 65 gold medals won in its Olympic history position Cuba among the 30 nations with the highest ratio of gold medals to population. They also place Cuba among an elite of some 15 nations which have achieved that many first places.

These results are also a measure of the importance the state attaches to sport. The country is the only Third-World nation in the privileged group mentioned. And it is, of course, the only country to have managed the feat under conditions of constant embargo, siege and persistent hostilities inflicted by the United States.

Cuba's entire tally of Olympic medals (gold, silver and bronze) numbers 170, a total achieved by only about two dozen countries (none of which being a developing nation) out of the 202 represented on the International Olympic Committee.

The nation's prestige in the world of sport rests on: today's open access to the practice of sport; its status as a world power with a solid ranking among the best-performing nations at the Olympic Games; over 11,000 sports training establishments, with EIDEs and ESPAs in every province; one of the most respected systems of sports medicine, including one of the best-equipped anti-doping laboratories among the 29 such accredited by the International Olympic Committee; leadership in the training of high-performing professionals, who now number over 35,000; and Cuba's presence, in a spirit of solidarity, in the five continents.