Cuba celebrates today the Day of the Educator by commemorating the 62nd anniversary of its declaration as a territory free of illiteracy, the first great educational feat of the nascent revolution in the Caribbean island.

The date has a broad symbolism throughout the nation, which recognizes the consecration of tens of thousands of teachers and professors, dedicated to teaching, educating and fostering a vigorous human capital since the beginning of the revolutionary process in 1959.

The occasion also commemorates the historic moment when, on December 22, 1961, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, proclaimed the country as a territory free of illiteracy, after the successful conclusion of the Literacy Campaign.

In the capital’s Plaza de la Revolución, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro declared victory in a great battle initiated by the teachers, which was continued by the popular literacy teachers and which gained extraordinary and decisive momentum with the young people of the Conrado Benítez brigades.

The educational and cultural feat that placed Cuba among the nations with the lowest rate of illiteracy in the world was achieved with the deployment of some 271 thousand volunteer educators throughout the national territory.

The Campaign succeeded in removing more than 700,000 people from ignorance, and laid the foundations for the creation of a vigorous universal and free educational system at all levels of education.

That feat changed the lives of the hitherto illiterate and had a significant influence on the lives of their teachers, but what was most significant was the social and cultural fabric of the nation, which henceforth achieved an educational system recognized throughout the world.

This December 22, as every year, Cuban teachers and professors will receive moral stimuli such as the José Tey Medal for their contributions to the formation of new generations of professionals.

On this occasion, the recognition to students has the added bonus that, despite the difficulties of the Cuban economy, the Antillean government approved for 2024 monetary incentives for this priority sector.

According to a recent speech made by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero at the National Assembly of People’s Power -which has been in session since last Wednesday until today-, educators will receive additional payments for seniority and teaching overload.