Teachers in Cuba, the Deficit Grows

Teachers in Cuba, the Deficit Grows
October 1, 2013
Ernesto C. Burgos*

HAVANA TIMES — If you were to ask the average Cuban why they wouldn't
consider becoming a teacher, they would most likely laugh in your face
or limit themselves to replying that Cuban teachers are overworked and
underpaid.

The saddest part of that is that it's true. In today's Cuba, becoming a
teacher is not at the top of anyone's list. Could we reasonably expect
things to be any different?

Very few, perhaps none of my classmates have even considered opting for
this career, not even as a last option. The fact of the matter is that,
even though the salaries teachers earn are somewhere in the middle by
Cuban standards, they're still not enough to live on.

The first thing we need to acknowledge is that a teacher is a human
being. They have aspirations, a family and friends. They also want to be
able to have fun or go on a relaxing vacation from time to time. But you
can't do any of this on a salary of less than 25 Cuban Convertible Pesos
(CUC) a month. (1 USD = 0.87 CUC)

Can any society expect a teacher to be committed to a job that, in most
cases, is unpleasant? What you mostly run into here are students who
don't even consider a career as a long-term life project. In most cases,
these students complete their social service having caused more harm
than good, thanks to an educational system that, compared to what it
once was, is in a frank state of decline.

Measures which seemed appropriate at one point have ended up doing more
harm than good.

Intensively-trained comprehensive teachers, commonly referred to as PGIs
("profesores generales integrales"), revealed that the crash courses
they completed could not compete with the far more patient and
well-rounded education traditional teachers received.

Today, we stand before a country filled with schools with empty
classrooms. A vast educational system and very few teachers willing to
teach. If we're willing to pay those in the defense sector
higher-than-average wages, to give them the opportunity to do their
shopping for food and other items at stores with lower-than-market
prices, if we give military officers the opportunity to go on family
retreats at recreational facilities or acquire a home (a most than
pressing need in Cuba), why should we deny these same opportunities to
people working at a sector as important as education?

To justify deficits in the education, the government many a time resorts
to the argument that this social service depends entirely on a State
budget. But so is the defense sector!

In economic terms, neither of the two is a productive sector. The only
difference is that one provides us with protection and the other with
education.

I am not saying we should take resources away from one area to invest in
another. I am merely saying that, if the country had the political will
to prioritize the military because certain historical developments, we
should be just as willing to offer those employed in education the same
conditions and privileges.

Right now, thousands of professionals who love the work they do are
being forced to quit their jobs because of financial reasons. They
aren't laid off, their contracts aren't terminated, they simply quit.

The exodus of these teachers to jobs that bear absolutely no relation to
their profession is undeniable. The great majority of students today see
at least one of their classes cancelled because of this.

We need to address this urgent problem as we move forward towards the
society we all want, lest one of Cuba's main achievements be
irreversibly lost.

Spaces for professional development (both material and individual) ought
to be created for our teachers. This would help transform one of the
noblest professions out there into an activity that is useful to both
society and those who practice it.

One of Cuba's main battles today is undoubtedly the teaching profession.
We should therefore ask ourselves: can we continue to demand so much of
this sector without giving anything in return?
—–
(*) High school student

Source: "Teachers in Cuba, the Deficit Grows" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=99157