The Higher Education entrance exams for the 2025-2026 academic year will be held on 6, 9 and 13 May for Mathematics, Spanish and Cuban History, respectively, according to René Sánchez Díaz, director of Entrance and Work Placement at the Ministry of Higher Education (MES), at a press conference.

He explained that the application of the exams, for the daytime course in these subjects, is maintained as an instrument to order the awarding of careers and training programmes at the short-cycle Higher Education level, so it is not compulsory to pass with a minimum of 60 points to obtain a place.

He stated that a first award will be made for those who pass with a minimum of 60 points in the examinations of all entry routes; the second will be for those applicants who failed the examinations.

The third award will include pre-university students who did not sit the entrance exams in the year of their graduation, and the fourth award will be for those from technical and vocational education, the Workers’ and Peasants’ College, pre-university students from previous years and others considered by the Provincial Entrance Commission.

He explained that it was decided to extend to all provinces, except Havana, the experiment applied in Pinar del Río, Villa Clara and Holguín, focusing on a model of income management that contributes to the interests of local development in the municipalities, and attention to vulnerable groups and individuals.

He pointed out that more than 100,000 places are being offered this year, which means that there is capacity for all students from all sources of income. This does not mean that this is the place to which the student aspires, he explained.

The Director of Admissions and Job Placement of the month emphasised that, over the years, this process has been characterised by being transparent, maintaining rigour, respecting the best rights and guaranteeing that all those who aspire have access to university studies, whether in a degree programme or in a higher technical training programme.