Schools Reopen Across Cuba as Fuel, Water and Power Shortages Persist

CUBA – Tuesday marked the first day of classes for an estimated 1.4 million children and more than 135,000 teachers across Cuba, as the crises on the island deepens.

Fuel, teachers and uniforms remain scarce as the new school year begins.

More than 10,000 schools were expected to open.

The island’s education minister acknowledged ongoing challenges, calling the reopening of schools a “heroic act” for an island whose free and universal education system was long considered a crowning achievement of the 1959 revolution.

Conditions have only worsened since schools early in June, with persistent power, water and fuel shortages compounded by a U.S. oil embargo and longstanding sanctions.