The Cuban Minister of Education, Naima Trujillo, highlighted the importance of the extraordinary meeting of heads of the sector that will take place this Friday in Santiago, Chile, where the challenges for the reactivation of education after Covid-19 will be analyzed.
It is an opportunity to exchange experiences not only in the context of post-pandemic recovery, but also in the educational transformation of the future due to its importance for the development and sustainability of humanity, the official said.
In an interview with Prensa Latina, he explained that with the outbreak of Covid-19 in his country, the third improvement of the education system began and many variants had to be applied.
Now, he said, we are carefully examining all the impacts of the health crisis on learning and teacher training in order to provide nuanced answers.
“We have adhered to the principle that no one is left behind or disadvantaged, so we have developed procedures for sensitive conditions of inclusion, such as special education,” he added.
The meeting, held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), was attended by ministers and high-level representatives from 30 countries and international organizations.
Another topic discussed is the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goal number four, which refers to ensuring quality education by 2030.
“There are commitments and goals for 2030 that Cuba achieved many years ago, although we also have challenges,” the minister said.
Among his achievements were comprehensive educational development and universal free education, which, he said, we look back on with great pride.
In addition, he noted Cuba's contribution to literacy in various regions thanks to the “Yes I Can” method now used in Honduras.
This is a program with high international recognition that we continue to provide to the countries of the world because we believe that literacy is a priority for the people.
In her conversation with this agency, the head of the education department discussed the damage caused by the economic, commercial and financial blockade that the United States has maintained against Cuba for more than 60 years.
The education sector requires significant resources for its infrastructure and administration, and the blockade is having an impact on the entire sector, especially in very sensitive areas such as special and pre-school education, he explained.
The two-day meeting is convened by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Chilean Ministry of Education and is supported by ECLAC, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Bank and the Latin American Development Bank for the Americas and the Caribbean.
(Latin Press)