Against all obstacles and in a particularly complex situation affecting every realm of national life, Cuba begins the school year this Tuesday, September 1. It is a necessity, an imperative. The doors of classrooms cannot remain closed, even when economic conditions are particularly difficult. Suspending or postponing cannot be an option: it would compromise the present and, to a large extent, the future of the country.

Education is one of the pillars of any society, and preserving it—precisely when circumstances are most pressing—is a responsibility that admits no surrender.

The academic year begins under the weight of concrete difficulties: the availability of teachers, material limitations in securing basic teaching supplies, and transportation issues. The latter become particularly relevant as distances increase between homes and educational institutions. While proximity is usually an advantage in primary and secondary education, in high school and higher education, it can turn into a daily challenge.

These shortages will have to be confronted with sacrifice, hard work, resourcefulness, and creativity, but with a singular purpose that must not be lost: to minimize the impact on the quality of a process that already faces too many challenges.

It will therefore be necessary to leverage all available alternatives. In-person learning must remain the core of education, but it can be complemented with virtual resources and hybrid modalities wherever circumstances dictate. Flexibility, however, must not translate into leniency. It will be essential to monitor adherence to curricula, preserve essential core content, and maintain the basic requirements for each level of education.

Evaluation procedures must also adhere to this principle: adapting methods to current circumstances does not mean lowering standards or abandoning academic rigor.

Yet sustaining education is not the sole responsibility of those who work in schools and universities. In difficult times, society as a whole must understand what is at stake. Families, institutions, communities, and the media can and must contribute to ensuring that no student becomes disconnected from their educational process.

Starting the school year is certainly an act of hope. But above all, it is an act of social responsibility: the decision to protect, even amid difficulties, that which will determine a good part of the country we will have tomorrow.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff