Diaz-Canel honors Cuban educators on their day

HAVANA, Cuba, December 22 (ACN) Miguel Diaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, described today teaching professionals as architects of kindness and dedication, on the occasion of Teacher's Day.

On X, the head of state thanked every Cuban teacher, "who knows how to seek, as Fidel said, the good that lies in the soul of every human being."

Diaz-Canel recalled December 22, 1961, when Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro announced to the world that the Literacy Campaign had concluded in Cuba, and the island was proclaimed a Territory Free of Illiteracy.

He noted that this campaign, announced on August 29, 1960, at the graduation of the first contingent of Volunteer Teachers, was one of the most beautiful episodes of the Revolution.

These first Volunteer Teachers carried out tasks in mountainous areas, and later the Frank País Brigades were formed, working in rural areas of the Oriente and Las Villas provinces and in the Sierra de los Organos mountain range in Pinar del Rio.

For their part, the Ministry of Education (MINED) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MES) congratulated Cuban educators today on their social media accounts on Teacher's Day, a date that commemorates the culmination of the 1961 Literacy Campaign and the declaration of Cuba as a Territory Free of Illiteracy.

In their official messages, both institutions recognized the pedagogical work carried out under complex circumstances and highlighted the social value of the educational work undertaken since the Revolution.

Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, Minister of Education, stated that gratitude to teachers is essential, as their support is indispensable for the formation of new generations.

The Ministry of Higher Education (MES) extended special greetings to the university academic community, highlighting the dedication of those who train professionals committed to the country's development.

In the summer of 1961, there were approximately 178,000 community literacy volunteers, 30,000 worker-brigade members, and 100,000 Conrado Benitez brigade members, named in honor of the 18-year-old volunteer teacher martyr murdered by counterrevolutionary groups in the Escambray Mountains.

During the campaign, more than 707,000 people learned to read and write, reducing the illiteracy rate from over 20% (1958) to 3.9%.

Today, meetings are being held in educational institutions and public spaces, where the continuity of Fidel Castro's legacy in Cuban education is reaffirmed.