What is education like in Cuba? A first-person look from 2015
A 2015 first-person look at education in Cuba: free schooling, class sizes, teacher training, literacy, and what the numbers show now.
Updated with current data and sources. Originally published January 15, 2015.
So Cuba is now in play. This is fascinating to me. My entire life I have been told and indoctrinated into thinking that Cuba is bad. It's Communist and so it's bad. I'm wise enough to now know that it's not the people that are bad but possibly the government. I guess that's open to discussion now too. I know many Cuban Americans and they are not bad people at all.
In fact their togetherness, family values and knack for cooking amazing food is very similar to my experience as an "American of Mexican Descent". They seem very much like me.
Naturally, as an education entrepreneur, I am intrigued with the possibilities of making a difference in Cuba such as I make here in the USA. So, with a quick thank you to Wikipedia (not always my favorite source) and others (see the sources on this page) here is what I know so far about the Cuban education system.
Education in Cuba
- Irrespective of income or place of living, education at every level is free.
- School meals and uniforms are free.
- There is a strict maximum of 25 children per primary-school class, many of which have as few as 20. As of 2010, secondary schools are striving towards only 15 pupils per class.
- It is not uncommon for schools to open at 6:30 am and close 12 hours later, providing free morning and after-school care for working parents with no extended family.
- "Mobile teachers" are deployed to homes if children are unable to come to school.
- The vast majority of Cuba's 150,000 teachers have studied for a minimum of 5 years, half to master's level.
- There are now 23 medical schools in Cuba, up from only 3 in 1959 before the Cuban Revolution.
Teacher education
A five-year course is provided for pre-primary and primary/basic school teachers at the Institutos Superiores Pedagógicos. They obtain the "Licenciado en Educación Primaria" (Certificate in Primary Education) or other types of degrees. Admission to these courses is based on the Bachillerato. Higher education students are offered specialized upgrading courses in the subjects they teach as well as teacher training courses. Many teachers are professionals from the production field. Where teachers are specially selected graduate students, as has mostly been the case in the last ten years, they receive initial teacher training simultaneously with their studies.
A very high literacy rate
With all this focus on education it is no surprise that Cuba's literacy rate is so high: World Bank data put adult literacy at 99.67% in 2012. In addition to a very robust traditional K-12 system, they also have a thriving technical / vocational system and a successful university system. The only downside I see to their education system is that males must show they have completed military service to enter the university system. Keep in mind all of these educational opportunities are completely free to the student and paid for entirely by the government. The lone exception that I could find is the military requirement for males.
With recent economic difficulties in the country there have been some cutbacks in the university system related to social studies and humanities. The government has placed a priority on students wanting to receive education in the medical and scientific areas of study. It appears to me that the Cuban government is promoting STEM education from the top. Maybe we can also learn from them. I'm looking forward to filling in the gaps and getting to know our island neighbors to the South East even more!
Where to start this week
Looking at another country's schools is a good way to ask what your own school has decided. If your school is working out how to handle AI, the free AI Readiness Assessment takes eight questions and scores you out of 24 across Policy, People, Curriculum, Guardrails, and Funding.
Related reading: Finland's education system: 5 practices we can still use, and what its falling scores teach us and Teaching in the "Middle East" can be rewarding but risky?
Sources
- The Independent, Latin lessons: What can we learn from the world's most ambitious literacy campaign? (November 2010) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Wikipedia, Education in Cuba (revision of December 17, 2014) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- World Bank, Literacy rate, adult total, Cuba (accessed November 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- World Bank, Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP), Cuba (accessed November 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Times Higher Education, News in brief on Cuban university admissions (2012) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Academic Cooperation Association, Cuba: student places decrease (2012) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Reuters via The Star, Cuba readies to kick off school year despite scant supplies (August 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Havana Times, Cuban school year to begin Sept. 1st amid teacher shortage (August 2026) (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
- Constitute Project, Cuba's Constitution of 2019 (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-11-05)
See where your school stands on AI, in five minutes
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