The head of the Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" de Las Villas (UCLV), Dr. Luis Antonio Barranco Olivera, announced on Sunday that second and third-year students will not have face-to-face classes on campus until January 2027, more than four months after the official start of the academic year.
This declaration was made through a video shared by UCLV on Facebook, celebrating the beginning of the initial on-campus period for first-year students. In his address, Dr. Barranco explained the staggered schedule for the 2026-2027 academic year: "First-year students will arrive shortly for their initial in-person phase, terminal year students in November, and sophomores and juniors in January."
This fragmented block schedule is not an isolated decision but rather a consequence of the current economic crisis, particularly the fuel shortage, which is impacting education across the nation. The Ministry of Higher Education confirmed that the academic year commenced on September 1st with a combination of online and in-person classes, contingent on the resource availability in each region.
Power outages lasting over 20 hours a day in many areas of the island, coupled with the departure of educators to private sectors or abroad, further exacerbate the situation.
Other universities face similar challenges. The University of Oriente has implemented a decentralized model, connecting students with educational settings within their local municipalities. Meanwhile, the University of Sancti Spíritus started the year with a primarily semi-in-person format for daytime students, integrating digital platforms and municipal university centers with concentrated in-person sessions. The official Escambray newspaper even acknowledged that this approach presents a significant challenge for the university faculty.
On September 3rd, Miguel Díaz-Canel led the national ceremony marking the start of the academic year at the University of Matanzas, advocating for the opening of classrooms despite the circumstances. "The most revolutionary thing is to start the course under these conditions; we are not starting out of obligation but because we believe this course can indeed be of higher quality," he stated.
The president also urged students not to use the current shortages as an excuse for lacking knowledge or academic performance. During the same event, the Minister of Higher Education, Walter Baluja García, announced that over 40,000 new students are joining the 2026-2027 academic year.
The deep-seated crisis has other milestones that highlight its severity. In March 2026, students protested on the steps of the University of Havana over the conditions in which they had to continue their studies.
In May, the government canceled the college entrance exams scheduled for June, deciding that university placements would be based on the cumulative academic index from high school, a measure not seen since the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As he welcomed first-year students to the Santa Clara campus, the rector concluded with a statement that stands in stark contrast to the reality faced by most of his students: "Welcome to this humanistic, academic, and scientific university. I count on you to continue building it from excellence, as it remains a very innovative, plural, and distinctly ours university."
For second and third-year students, however, that welcome will have to wait until January.
Understanding the Impact of Cuba's Educational Crisis
Why are UCLV students facing delays in their in-person classes?
The delays are primarily due to the economic crisis in Cuba, particularly the shortage of fuel, which affects the entire educational system.
How is the crisis affecting other universities in Cuba?
Similar to UCLV, other universities like the University of Oriente and the University of Sancti Spíritus have adopted decentralized and semi-in-person models to adapt to the crisis.
What measures did the Cuban government take regarding college entrance exams?
In May, the government suspended the entrance exams and decided to allocate university placements based on students' cumulative academic index from high school.