Education on the Market

Education on the Market / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma
Posted on November 11, 2014

14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana/November 8, 2014 — Although missing from
the opportunities portfolio, "the exportation of academic services" may
be a considerable field for obtaining foreign currency given the
presence of more than two thousand Cuban helpers in some 14 countries,
according to what Doctor Aida Terrero Lafita, director of International
Relations for the Ministry of Education, set forth in a press conference.

Although the amount that this would represent for the country was not
made public, the official emphasized that among those programs most in
demand abroad are a literacy teaching program known as Yes, I Can, and
another called Teach Your Child, intended for early childhood, and those
that focus on special education.

Dr. Terrero specified that on the African continent there is a growing
trend of seeking Cuban collaboration in technical and professional
education, especially as related to jobs in the fields of electricity,
construction and agronomy.

The branch of the Ministry of Education charged with exporting academic
services includes a team of 26 specialists occupied with carrying out
the process for selecting the teachers who will offer services abroad.

There are many educators who aspire to carry out one of these missions,
now lacking the epic and caring character of other times and marked
today by the economic needs of the country and the hardships that these
professionals experience. In spite of receiving a fraction of what the
State raises in payment for their services, many of them consider the
missions in other countries an opportunity to improve economically and
acquire consumer goods.

Public Health personnel have been doing something similar and, according
to unofficial figures, close to 50,000 people from that sector currently
lend service abroad. They are mainly in Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua,
and Bolivia, also in Argentina, Ecuador, Haiti, Guatemala, Panama and
many other countries.

Translated by MLK

Source: Education on the Market / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma | Translating
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