Three young Cubans returned this weekend from Turin, Italy, with five medals won at the XIX International Earth Sciences Olympiad (IESO 2026), held from August 20 to 27, marking Cuba's first participation in this international scientific competition.
The Ministry of Education of the regime announced the results on its social media, emphasizing that this achievement was made possible due to the talent of the students and, significantly, the support of their families.
"Its support was key to achieving these results," acknowledged the state agency, an implicit admission that the private efforts of parents and guardians compensate for the shortcomings of a crisis-stricken educational system.
Antonio Pacheco Cabrera from IPVCE Máximo Gómez Báez in Camagüey was the most awarded of the delegation: he won two silver medals — in the team theoretical test and in another group practical test — and a bronze medal in the individual theoretical exam.
Carlos Jesús Valiente García from IPVCE Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba earned two bronze medals: one in the individual theoretical test and another in the practical team competition.
The third member of the delegation participated in the tests, although the Ministry of Education did not identify him by name in its communications.
The closing of the IESO 2026 in Turin had an additional Cuban touch: as reported by the IPVCE Generalísimo on its social media, "Cuban music took over the minds and bodies of the young contestants, and the Santiago conga did the rest."
The triumph is even more remarkable when considering the actual state of the schools from which these students come. The IPVCEs—vocational institutes of exact sciences that have historically trained Cuban competitors—are undergoing severe deterioration.
The one in Holguín was recently described as in total devastation, with collapsed dormitories and unusable pools, while the Antonio Maceo in Santiago was closed due to structural damage in 2022.
The overall context of the Cuban educational system is equally bleak. The 2026-2027 school year will kick off next Monday under conditions that the Minister of Education herself described as "exceptional": there is a shortage of at least 24,000 teachers, which is equivalent to 12.5% of the planned positions; only 20% of students will receive new uniforms; and 48.5% of children aged six to eleven do not receive food or snacks at school.
In that scenario, it is Cuban families that bear the real burden of their children's education: they pay for private lessons, acquire materials, maintain study routines, and make up for what the State can no longer —or does not want to— guarantee through their own efforts.
The five metals brought from Turin are largely the result of that daily sacrifice.
The result in Italy adds to a streak of international achievements by Cuban students in 2026: in June, Cuba made its debut at the Al-Khwarizmi Olympiad in Uzbekistan with three medals in its first participation, and also earned ten awards at the Ibero-American Olympiad of Informatics, finishing sixth among the participating countries.
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