MINAS, CAMAGÜEY.— The Municipal Directorate of Education in Minas launched a comprehensive initiative during the 2024–2025 academic year that combines academic achievement with community transformation. The effort is framed around three major national milestones: the 72nd anniversary of the assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes garrisons, the 95th anniversary of Dr. Armando Hart Dávalos’s birth, and the centennial of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.
Freddy Rotillet Morata, Municipal Director of Education, highlighted notable academic progress: “The municipality achieved a 100% pass rate in the national university entrance exams, and 95% of twelfth-grade graduates are continuing their studies at the university level.”
Several educational centers underwent significant upgrades. The “Carlos Manuel de Céspedes” rural school in the Fomento community saw a complete structural overhaul. The “Mártires de Minas” Basic Secondary School (ESBU) received new water tanks, and a fourth-grade classroom at “Antonio Guiteras Holmes” Primary School was refurbished with support from families—an example of strong school-community ties. More than one million pesos were invested in renovations, which included new carpentry work and a facelift for the Palace of Pioneers.
Alexei de la Torre, educational psychologist and Party cell secretary at the Mártires de Minas ESBU, noted the repair of a broken water cooler and reinstallation of piping in science labs, thanks to support from the Secretariat of the Communist Party’s Provincial Committee in Camagüey.
Health professionals partnered with schools to deliver educational talks and parent workshops aimed at preventing drug use—aligned with the revolutionary principle of “changing everything that must be changed.” De la Torre also mentioned that students are preparing a choreography inspired by Chinese therapeutic exercises for the municipality’s central July 26th commemorative ceremony.
Rotillet Morata further explained that educational projects are rooted in the historical anniversaries being honored, fostering both learning and a revival of Cuba’s historical memory. The FEEM (Federation of Middle School Students) and student brigades are involved in all activities, while the summer program includes recreational events at the Pioneer Explorers Center.
On Monday, July 7th, a preparatory seminar for the next academic year will be held. According to Rotillet, this seminar will help convey the message of July 26th, focusing on developing students' ability to absorb and reflect on revolutionary values. He also referenced the ideological challenges posed by social media, calling it “a battle defined by the slogan ‘fight for the people,’ which defines Minas.” And he concluded with conviction: “In every classroom beats the heart of the Revolution.”
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez