Havana, Cuba.- A total enrollment of 311,844 students will begin their studies on September 2 in Havana, a city that will host the national event for the 2019-2020 school year in Cuba.

During the new school period, the capital’s students will be distributed in 213 teaching centers, according to the provincial director of Education, Yoania Falcon. Some 506 teachers have requested to rejoin the educational system in the territory, they will join graduates of the Pedagogical Schools and the university of pedagogical sciences ‘Enrique Jose Varona’, underscored Falcon quoted by local media.

The official added that the completion of educational coverage in the capital is currently around 91 percent, and the deficit will be covered with different options such as hourly contracts and the rise in the teaching load.

In that sense, the Cuban Minister of Education, Ena Elsa Velazquez, confirmed that with the salary increase to the budgeted sector, over 8,000 teachers in the country will return to the classroom, which will allow the school year to commence with coverage of 95 percent.

Velazquez, during the national check on the preparations for the new school period, insisted on the need to strengthen the program of comprehensive attention to teachers, for which the support of local authorities is required.

Likewise, she also stressed that despite the complex economic situation the country is experiencing, essential resources and study materials for the first semester of the course are guaranteed.

According to official data, it is estimated that over 1,700,000 students will enter classrooms in over 10,000 educational centers this September.