New requirements for language schools prioritize workers

New requirements for language schools prioritize workers / 14ymedio,
Orlando Palma

14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 29 April 2015 – The high demand for
foreign language instruction in Cuba in recent years has forced the
Ministry of Education to augment the requirements for access to language
schools. Resolution Number 75 of 2015, recently published in the
Official Gazette, regulates entry to these schools to people over 17,
prioritizes workers, and limits students to studying one language at a time.

The regulation establishes that students who want access to this variety
of adult education must have completed at least the ninth grade in high
school. Only through special exceptions will the schools admit
"housewives, retirees, other students in senior high schools or
universities, or those not working for the social-economic interests of
the locality and for the creation of an emerging workforce, requiring
language school training."

To the new restrictions is added, however, the flexibility to open
language classrooms in workplaces. With previous authorization, there
may also be specialized training courses for people who will be serving
on missions of cooperation in foreign countries.

An official from the Ministry of Education who preferred to remain
anonymous said that among the motives for making the entry requirements
stricter is that a large percentage of the students "end up
emigrating and taking with them the knowledge that has been given to
them at a very low cost or, in most cases, for free." He explained, "We
need to bring language learning to people who are going to use it in the
local economy."

None of these measures directly affect private sector instruction in
foreign languages, although they could benefit from a greater influx of
students who no longer meet the requirements to enroll in state schools.

Source: New requirements for language schools prioritize workers /
14ymedio, Orlando Palma | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/new-requirements-for-language-schools-prioritize-workers-14ymedio-orlando-palma/