Amidst a deep crisis in the Cuban education system, characterized by a shortage of teachers, blackouts, and interruptions in teaching, officials stated "that universities are our reason for being", during a tour of the Havana municipality of Playa, which the regime presented as a demonstration of its support for higher education just days before the start of the new school year.
The President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the Havana municipality of Playa this Thursday to tour two institutions related to higher education: the future headquarters of the Higher Institute of Design (ISDi) and the Science and Technology Interface Society of CUJAE, known as CETA S.A.
“Almost all provinces and universities already have their interface societies. Therefore, this is our first network of alliances. We have the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba, which plays a fundamental role for companies, of course. And we have the universities. Universities are our reason for being,” stated the director of CETA S.A., Danae Pigueiras Otero.
For his part, the dean of ISDI, Sergio Luis Peña Martínez, commented on the new location opened after the closure of the historic faculty site: "The University of Design will have a new home, a completely revitalized space. During this challenging period, resources, efforts, and commitments have emerged so that finally the School of Design can have its space," he noted.
The need for a new headquarters has a background that the regime prefers not to emphasize. The historic ISDI building, located at Belascoaín and Carlos III in Central Havana, was declared uninhabitable in 2022 due to serious structural failures.
The situation worsened over time: in July 2024, part of the interior facade collapsed of the building, which had already been propped up and closed off, and in January 2025, a new partial collapse left a 78-year-old woman hospitalized. The building was finally demolished in March 2026 after years of deterioration without a solution.
The work, carried out by brigades managed by a company from the Ministry of Construction, is still not finished. However, the dean is confident that some classrooms may open in September.
Díaz-Canel's visit comes at a critical moment for higher education in Cuba.
The government suspended the entrance exams to universities in May 2026 and replaced them with allocation based on the pre-university academic index, while the 2025-2026 school year ended prematurely between June 15 and June 30, weeks earlier than usual, all due to the energy crisis that is paralyzing the country.
The new university academic year 2026-2027 is set to begin on September 1, 2026, as confirmed by the Ministry of Higher Education.
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