Cuban classrooms will receive over 1.6 million students on September 2, Education Minister Naima Trujillo announced on Friday, after finishing a tour of educational institutions in the capital to check out the preparations for the next school year.

In view of the problems presented by the sector with the completion of teacher coverage, the minister urged to innovate, make procedures more flexible and use alternatives on the basis of the implementation of the new provisions concerning additional payments for teaching load and seniority.

The initiative is aimed at seeking the highest possible quality in training and maintaining the ethics of the educational teaching process, in a challenging economic scenario, aggravated by the unprecedented tightening of the U.S. blockade.

According to the Cuban News Agency, Trujillo pointed out that for the third consecutive year, it was not possible to ensure the uniform for all levels of the General Education System, so the authority encouraged austerity and the greatest possible uniformity in the cases that require it.

The official further called for reflection on the educational usefulness of each of the activities so that the school day is a comprehensive educational process with optimal use of the timetable.

With a total of 1,213 educational facilities, Havana will welcome an estimated enrollment of 269,022 students on September 2.

Authorities of the Ministry of Education are making tours nationwide to monitor the preparations for the next school year.

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