EDUCATION SYSTEM IN CUBA

The country of Cuba is in the North America continent and the latitude and longitude for the country are 22.0289° N, 79.9370° W. Halebsky S. and Kirk, J.M. (eds.) Cuba: Twenty-five Years of Revolution, 1959-1984, New York,.

In all national contexts the vocational system is closely connected to the general educational system and the labour market. Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Cuba has a total area of 109,884 km² (42,426 sq mi). Its area is 110,860 km² (42,800 sq mi) including coastal and territorial waters. The main island (Cuba) has 5,746 km (3,570 mi) of coastline and 29 km (18 mi) of land borders — all figures including theUnited States territory at Guantánamo Bay, where the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located. Stoner, K. Lynn. "Cuba" Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2005. Archived 2009-10-31.

Cuban Vocational Education and Training System

The Labour Market and Vocational Education and Training

All work-related activities in Cuba are organized around the economic and social values of the socialist state. Cunha, M. P. e., and R. C. e. Cunha. 2004. The dialectics of human resource management in Cuba International Journal of Human Resource Management Havanna.

Vocational training is located at the intermediate level of the Cuban education system. Primary and secondary schooling support the technical vocational training. It orients from a polytechnic view with a strong emphasis to combining study and work, especially agricultural activities. Students therefore spend long periods involved in productive labour by Harten, H. C. 1998. Education In Systems of Revolutionary Mobilization. The example of Cuba, Cuba Comparative Education, Bonn

Watts, A. G., I. Jamieson, and A. Miller. 1989. School-Based Work Experience: Some International Comparisons British Journal of Education & Work, TU Berlin, Berlin

Recent studies have shown however that this principle does not necessarily lead to a positive attitude toward work; in fact, one of the main reform measures in the secondary curriculum was set up to improve pre-vocational orientation. Secondary education in Cuba is considered a special phase of school training.

In the year 2000/2001 two-thirds of Cuban youth enter vocational education, the remainder attended pre-university institutes and strove to pass a demanding entrance examination. Vocational training takes two to four years depending on the time the program starts and the intensity of specialization. Different schools are available for vocational education example 150 educational institutions that are primarily responsible for the training of skilled workers325 polytechnic institutions that train intermediate technicians and 125 institutions for further education by Hickling-Hudson, A. 2004. South-South Collaboration: Cuban Teachers in Jamaica and Namibia Comparative Education, Watts, A. G., I. Jamieson, and A. Miller. 1989. School-Based Work Experience: Some International Comparisons British Journal of Education & Work, TU Berlin, Berlin

The Ministry of Education (MINED) is responsible for these educational institutions and tightly controls the educational centre of other ministries. Designated centers of education require permission from the Ministry of Education and for those institutions directly under the control of a state enterprise, approvals given by the relevant ministry.

Every province has a university that offers special courses for workers. Cuba also has a very high number of academics and the numbers exceed those enrolled in technical fields. In 2009-10, only 2.4% of students enrolled in agricultural studies, 7% in the technical sciences in comparison to 24.8% enrolled in the social sciences and humanities.

These numbers however lead to considerable social and economic distortions given that the graduate will not get acceptable jobs in the state economy. Problems could then arise if thereis a surplus of academics and not enough workers, an actual problem in the agricultural sector

Cruz, R. D., and J. A. Villamil. 2000. Sustainable Small Enterprise Development in a Cuban Transition Economy Studies in Comparative International Development