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3. DAMAGES IN THE FIELDS OF HEALTH CARE, FOOD, EDUCATION AND CULTURE

3.3.- EDUCATION

All Cubans, without distinction as to gender, race, political beliefs or religion, have equal access to education, free of charge, at every level of education, including university.

For more than 40 years, the Cuban education system has suffered heavy losses as a result of the economic war against our country. The intensification of the genocidal policy of blockade over the last decade has had a significant impact on the supply of basic materials for the education of Cuban students.

Due to the restrictions imposed on Cuba by the blockade, the buying power for the importing of materials and resources for Cuban schools has decreased by 25% to 30% since the early 1990s, since these goods must now be acquired in distant markets, and sometimes at higher prices. In the year 2002 alone, Cuba imported 11.7 million dollars worth of materials from Asian markets; if it had been possible to purchase these materials from the United States, freight costs would have been significantly lower, and thus a greater amount of merchandise could have been bought with the same amount of money.

Due to the difficulties in making purchases, the supply of pencils, workbooks and paper for general education use is still only half of what was acquired in 1989. Despite the enormous efforts being made, only 50% of the necessary textbooks and reference materials are being printed, while the effects of aging and deterioration are felt in physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, as well as vocational workshops in high schools.

One of the sectors most severely affected has been the Cuban special education system. There are multiple examples of the difficulties faced in this important effort as a consequence of the blockade.

To import the Braille machines needed for the education of blind and visually impaired children, the country has had to pay up to 1 000 dollars a unit in other markets, when the same machines could have been bought in the United States for only 700 dollars. The acquisition of Braillon paper, essential in this area of education, is subject to a similar situation.

The national program for the construction of special education schools has also been affected as a consequence of this criminal policy. The lifting of the blockade would lead to a significant improvement in special education, allowing for the construction of all of the schools envisioned in this program and fuller, more fruitful participation in society on the part of children and young people who suffer from some sort of disability.

Despite the impact of these adverse effects on the possibilities for greater development of the skills and capacities of Cuban children and youth, the Cuban government has mobilized copious resources and trained a highly qualified staff of professors to maintain the country's educational achievements and overcome the challenges posed by the blockade.

The shortages resulting from the intensification of the blockade have been counteracted by the political will of the Cuban government to maintain and elevate the population's level of education and knowledge. This is demonstrated by the assignation in 2003 of more than three billion pesos, or 23.8% of the total annual budget, for funding the educational system.

Despite the international recognition of its educational programs, including that of UNESCO, Cuban society aspires to achieve even higher levels of general and comprehensive education and culture, so as to reach first place worldwide in these spheres. With this goal in mind, numerous educational programs have been underway since the year 2000.

Among them, we could mention the school computer program, for which the goal is to supply schools with the computers needed for the work of all students; the teacher training program, aimed at fulfilling the growing demand for teachers; and the art instructor training program, to enhance the promotion of art and culture in every school and community.

The audiovisual program, for its part, has resulted in the supply of a television set for every school classroom and a VCR for every 100 students, along with the launching of a new educational television channel; a second educational channel will be introduced in the near future.

At this point in time, 74% of the total number of children enrolled in primary school are taught in classrooms with no more than 20 students each. Strenuous efforts are being made to extend this maximum class size to all of the country's primary schools, while a similar program has begun in the country's junior high schools.
Cuba has reiterated its willingness to share the advances it has made in this sphere with all of the countries of the world, and has offered UNESCO the new methodologies created by Cuban educational specialists.

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