The authorities in Ciego de Ávila acknowledged that the demand for school uniforms can only be prioritized for preschool, fifth, and seventh grade, while students in continuing years are left out of this coverage, a decision that has provoked numerous criticisms from parents and family members: "What about the other children, don't they exist?" questioned a user.
The situation was presented this Wednesday by the provincial newspaper Invasor, which reported on a preparatory meeting for the 2026-2027 school year led by officials from the Party and the provincial Government, during which logistical, financial, material, organizational, and transportation challenges were analyzed.
Executives from the Base Business Unit Confecciones Trébol reported that there are still around 2,700 garments left to produce, primarily for primary education and mainly associated with bermuda shorts.
The official forecast is to complete that production next week, just days before the start of the school year, scheduled for September 1.
However, the official information itself clarified that the demand for school clothing will be covered "only as a priority" for the mentioned grades, and not for the continuing years.
In the province, there are also garments brought in from Sancti Spíritus, including shirts, and the authorities are coordinating with trade entities to make them available for sale to the public as soon as possible.
The news raised immediate questions about what will happen to the children whose uniforms from previous years no longer fit them.
“Tremendous achievement. Do the children in the ongoing groups not grow or is the uniform stretchy?” someone joked.
Another mother explained that her son will start second grade with clothes received from preschool: "They gave him a pair of shorts and two shirts. Those pieces no longer fit him. Of course, children grow, they stretch. How long do we have to reinvent ourselves?"
A user stated that she will not turn to the informal market to solve the problem: "I am not going to buy uniforms online, so mine will wear civilian clothes."
Numerous questions also arose regarding students starting tenth grade. "I can't understand why students beginning tenth grade aren't a priority as well. They've been given a uniform since seventh grade, they have grown, and they are in the midst of their development," noted one individual.
"And with what uniform are the children starting the tenth grade going to school?" another one asked.
Some parents also requested that schools do not penalize students who have to attend in casual clothing due to the lack of uniforms.
"I hope that when the continuing students are in civilian clothes, the teachers won't want to take disciplinary action or punish them," warned a user.
Another reaction questioned the proximity of the school year commencement in light of a still incomplete production: "So how can they say that all the conditions are ready for the new term when, at this point, the uniforms have not yet been made, and then there’s the distribution and sale afterward?"
The difficulties at the beginning of the school year in Ciego de Ávila go beyond clothing. During the meeting, the delays in the payment of salaries to Education workers were also discussed, which according to the authorities themselves caused "great tensions" during the previous four to five months.
The director general of Education in the province, Luis Enrique Calderón Piñeiro, also proposed the possibility of installing photovoltaic solar kits in residential centers and homes for children without parental care to ensure certain nighttime activities in light of the energy challenges.
The shortages of transportation and fuel will also necessitate a reorganization of higher education.
The teaching activities for various programs will be moved to the Manuel Ascunce Domenech campus in the city of Ciego de Ávila due to difficulties in traveling to the central campus of the Máximo Gómez Báez University, located in the community of Modesto Reyes.
The issue of uniforms adds to another growing concern for Cuban families as students return to school: how to ensure daily meals for the students.
A mother recently questioned what children will be able to take for snacks to school in light of the rising prices of basic products. She cited examples such as oil, which she found to be 4,000 pesos, and sausages at 1,200 pesos.
Economic concerns were also reflected in a personal calculation that estimated the monthly expense to cover 30 breakfasts and 30 snacks for a child at 10,160 pesos, excluding lunches, meals, transportation, medication, shoes, clothes, notebooks, or a backpack.
Incomplete uniforms, difficulties with food, transportation issues, salary delays, and energy-related problems are all part of the scenario that Ciego de Ávila is facing as it attempts to start the new school year.
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