The Associated Press reported that more than 10,000 schools opened across Cuba on 2026-09-01, welcoming an estimated 1.4 million children and more than 135,000 teachers. ^[1] Over 1.4 million students and more than 135,000 teachers were scheduled to return to over 10,000 schools across Cuba on Tuesday for the start of the new academic term. ^[2] Cuban authorities said on 2026-09-01 that about 10,000 schools across the country opened for 1.4 million students and more than 135,000 teachers for the new school year. ^[3] The Cuban government sent more than 3,000 teachers from eastern provinces to schools in Havana after teacher coverage fell to 73% across the island, with vacancies attributed to low salaries and emigration. ^[4] According to Cuba's state media, some schools have only a 15-day supply of food, and parents and the private sector are expected to help provide school meals. ^[5] Cuba's government ended the previous school year in June 2026, one month early, due to the island's power, water and fuel shortages amid the U.S. oil embargo and sanctions. ^[6] Critical shortages of fuel have caused local school buses to stop running, forcing families to use alternative transport such as borrowed horses and wooden carts to get children to school. ^[7] The island's education minister characterized the return to classrooms as a 'heroic act' for a country whose free, universal system of education was long regarded as a crowning achievement of the 1959 revolution. ^[8] President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez posted on X on 2026-09-01 that the school year's opening was a revolutionary achievement that the US 'empire' and its blockade could not prevent. ^[9] Education Minister Naima Trujillo Barreto reported that teacher coverage across the island fell to 73% due to low salaries and emigration. ^[10] Education Minister Naima Trujillo Barreto stated that school uniforms met only 12% of demand at the primary level due to a lack of fabric and money. ^[11]