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There are four universities in Cuba: La Habana, Las Villas, Camag?ey, and Oriente. A successful university candidate would have completed high school, passed an entrance test, gone through a personal interview, and shown concrete evidence of a correct revolutionary attitude. One of the more interesting aspects of the current problems in Cuba is the emergence of English and its inclusion as a compulsory subject in the education system. It is probably no surprise that English language training has not been a high priority for the revolutionary government. However, the re-emergence of tourism as a source of hard currency has made the ability to speak English more valuable. As it is in the newly independent countries of the ex-Soviet Union, English is now the foreign language of choice, officially acknowledged as the language of entry into the international community. The Ministry of Education has made the study of English compulsory in secondary schools, and several government programs in English have been established for adults.

There is a teacher-training program in English available in all the pedagogical institutes. This program requires the student to spend five years studying grammar, general linguistics, literature, and area studies of the English-speaking countries. The program is remarkably successful considering Cuba’s lack of resources. Knowledgeable Americans have commented that these programs are current on recent developments in the field of English language teaching but not surprising, considering that Cuba has always maintained normal contacts with English-speaking Great Britain and Canada, and quiet contacts with the United States. A great problem with English teachers at the moment appears to be their abandonment of the profession in favor of the tourism industry. Cubans who deal with tourists have access to hard currency in the form of tips, and this access is enough to make a low-level job at a hotel more lucrative than a more prestigious one as a teacher. Exactly what that figure means is a point of contention. Not all figures from the Cuban government can be believed, and in any country the literacy rate is as much a reflection of the definition of literacy used as it is of the number of people who can read. It is clear, however, that almost everyone in Cuba has gone to school, and the existence of well over a thousand libraries on the island attests to the fact that the population is in general a reading one.

Cuba has a population of about 10.8 million, 70% of whom live in the cities. What most people don?t realize in today?s society is that numbers aren?t always accurate. With such a big populace on such a small amount of land, an education program is easily implemented. Government programs, especially under Cuba, are easy to force on people. With nowhere to run especially from an island, Cubans must obey Government policies. Laws and programs must be followed or punishment will follow. If a bit more force were put into education programs, by the Federal government, the United States? literacy wouldn?t continue to drop. In the late 1800?s and early 1900?s, we, the United States, tried to help the education system in Cuba; We should now look at our own history and redo our education system. If a countries’ population can?t read then how do we expect our children to advance and lead our nation into the future.

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