-DATE- 19790714 -YEAR- 1979 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- SPEECH -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- CASTRO DISCUSSES EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT, PROBLEMS -PLACE- KARL MARX THEATER -SOURCE- HAVANA DOMESTIC TV SERVI -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19790714 -TEXT- CASTRO DISCUSSES EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT, PROBLEMS Havana Domestic Television Service in Spanish 0129 GMT 14 Jul 79 FL [Speech by Cuban President Fidel Castro at graduation of Manuel Ascunce Domenech teacher training detachment students held at Havana's Karl Marx Theater "in the afternoon" of 14 July--recorded] [Text] Comrade leaders of the education sector, dear comrade graduates and relatives: The family of graduates from the higher education institutes has grown and for that reason it has been necessary this year to hold this graduation ceremony at the Karl Marx Theater. If the figures are not incorrect, a total of 2,548 have graduated from the higher institutes as professors. In other words, from the third contingent [of the Manuel Ascunce Domenech teacher training detachment) and--if the figures are correct because a figure was given and then another, and I think that the number of certificates I signed was different--[laughter] I believe the exact number of graduates as certified teachers is 785. As you can see, we have two generations of teachers. There are those of the first contingent with the double distinction of having been the first to graduate as teachers and the first to graduate as licentiates. I recall perfectly well when they graduated after 5 years of study 2 years ago. All of them were asked to make a special effort to continue their studies and obtain the title of licentiate. Actually, 83 percent have graduated as such of those who had already graduated as teachers. The number is truly high. If it is not greater, it is due, in some cases, to objective difficulties and justified reasons which did not permit them to graduate at this time. There also is a reduced number [who did not graduate] due to subjective reasons. In any case, it is an enormous satisfaction for us to be able to graduate as licentiates this numerous group, this high percentage of the students who 2 years ago graduated as teachers. At that time, the graduates from the first contingent numbered around 1,000. In this case, that of the third contingent, they number more than 2,500. This means that the number of graduates as professors already exceeds 3,500 as a result of the effort initiated almost 7 years ago with the creation of the Manuel Ascunce Domenech teacher training detachment. The extremely serious problem of not having enough teachers for the ( extraordinary growth in the number of intermediate-level students could be solved solely and exclusively thanks to the detachment. The number of intermediate-level students 7 years ago was not quite 300,000. This school year [words indistinct] the school year that begins in September, we will have approximately (1.2) million intermediate-level students. This is almost four times more than we had when the detachment was created. This advance could not have been possible [words indistinct) (?without) the detachment. The number of students at the higher education institutes 7 years ago was not quite [figures and words indistinct]. Today we have more than 50,000 students at the higher education institutes. At first, it was necessary to call on students with a 10th-grade education, and now the detachment is composed of pre-university school graduates. This was an important advance. The detachment not only has helped our society to solve this enormous and extremely important problem. It also has been capable of taking from its ranks a new detachment--the Che Guevara Internationalist Detachment. [applause] These truly are important achievements and advances in all fields. At the same time and along with the training of cadres as professors, it was necessary to make an enormous material effort to build secondary, pre-university and technological schools in the countryside and cities. It was not possible to solve the problem with just one type of school. A big effort was necessary to publish textbooks. A big effort has been necessary to provide equipment, educational means, uniforms and supplies for these schools with such a high number of students. And this was done amid economic limitations and difficulties. At the same time, a program was undertaken to improve our education system which, for all practical purposes, will be applied at almost all primary and secondary grades in the next school year. If you think a little bit about all this, you will have a real idea of the big effort and what an effort in education of this magnitude has meant for a country that is poor, a country of the so-called Third World, an underdeveloped country. This effort also coincided with a population explosion, almost like an atomic explosion, which in turn almost coincided with the triumph of the revolution. Fortunately, this is not the situation now. Therefore, we will not be forced in the future to make a quantitative effort of the magnitude our country has made over the past 7 years ever since the detachment was created. We could assert absolutely that no other country of the world, of the underdeveloped world or any other, has had to undertake an effort as the one Cuba has made in education over that period of time. The circumstances are changing from that situation when we had no professors or even primary school teachers. At a given moment, 70 percent of the primary school teachers were not certified. This situation will have been definitely overcome by 1980 with 100 percent of the primary school teachers certified. [Castro now apparently addresses someone in the audience] That one probably is protesting, saying: Well, if it had not been for the population explosion I would not be here. [laughter] I repeat that our situation with cadres is changing, and also with all the primary teacher training schools built over these years, with more than 30,000 students at the primary teacher training schools and with tens of thousands--I said more than 50,000--in the higher education institutes. Our availability of human resources, which are fundamental, as cadres in education is changing radically in comparison to the situation in the past. Primary school teachers also are improving themselves. A numerous contingent of primary school teachers helped us with intermediate-level education when they devoted themselves to study and prepared to be teachers at this level. And already there are about 12,000 primary school teachers studying to become licentiates in primary education. It seems to me that if we look at these prospects, our country in the future will have a great number of well-trained cadres, most of them young and with a wealth of extraordinary experience. In future years we will not have to make a quantitative effort like the one we have had to make over the past 7 of 10 years [and the one] that ends approximately in 1980 or 1982 [as heard] when the number of students at the intermediate level will still be growing but at a much lesser proportion and the number of students in primary school will begin to drop. Of course, we will have to continue building schools [words indistinct] must be built at a faster rate at the university level. Over these years, we have built not only urban and rural secondary and pre-university schools, but we also have been able to build specialized schools, vocational schools, basic sports training schools, physical education instructors schools, Camilito [military-vocational] schools, technological institutes, higher pedagogic institutes and university schools. We even have begun building the first vocational arts schools. We still have to build many schools but in different proportions. I repeat, much [building] in higher education and we must complement the entire concept and system of education in our country. However, I believe that the fundamental effort over the next 10 years and even for the immediate future rests on a qualitative effort to complete our education system improvement program. As you can see, we already have a perfected system that cannot be compared with the one we had at the triumph of the revolution in 1959 because it is infinitely superior. During the first years [of the revolution], the books were ( old. We did not even have textbooks. That is a problem of countries which make a revolution. They find the old textbooks that have nothing scientific about them. Our situation today in matters of textbooks and having a system and accumulated experience is quite different. And, I repeat, we have an entire program that has advanced much in improving the education system. At the same time, the system demands constant improvement. I say that our fundamental task in coming years is a qualitative one in every sense--qualitative in teaching and quality of teaching; qualitative in organization; qualitative in the development of the students' personality and consciousness; qualitative in discipline; qualitative in the performance of duties by the education cadres, directors, leaders, chiefs of classes, professors and all workers in the education system. We have made an enormous effort but we cannot say that everything went well. We cannot say that all schools are models. It does not mean that we do not have problems. There are some schools that indeed are model ones in almost everything or in everything and others that are models of everything that is bad. We know this. When there are hundreds upon hundreds of schools and there is a comparison of promotion rates, discipline, participation in productive work and organization, we can easily tell the differences from one type of school and another. Although having the same material resources, it happens, of course, that there is a good school when there are good cadres, director and leaders at the school; when [words indistinct] group of teachers who are conscientious, active, demanding. And it is quite a problem to be able to have a good director for each of the thousands of schools we have. It is quite a problem to have a good director for a basic rural secondary school with 600 students when the school was built for 500. Out of necessity we had to raise the number of students [at such a school] by putting a bed here, a bunk over here and another over there. But to manage a school of 600 boarding students--not to mention a vocational school of 2,500 students or one of 4,500 students--is a very serious task requiring an exceptional effort, exceptional cadres, exceptional professors, exceptional workers. And this is so above all, when we have difficulties, when we do not have all the uniforms we would like to have and uniforms must be taken care of; when we do not have all the food supplies in the quantity and quality we would like to have and what there is available must be processed well and properly; when we do not have all the books we would like to have, absolutely all the titles we would like and at the proper time, despite the efforts the country is making, the capacity of all our publishing houses, type of paper available, whether [the book] will be in black and white or in color. When the great many problems are analyzed each year when we are making plans and analyzing resources, we can see many things [that are needed] and not always is there enough for everything. Sometimes we have had to decide how to solve a problem with a textbook because it had to be in color since that was how it was designed and the quality of its contents and usefulness depend on the use of colors. However, there is not enough printing capacity or there is not [words indistinct] necessary. It then must be printed abroad and we have 1, 2 or 20 classes without textbooks because the improvement program requires new books. Since $600,000 or $700,000 must be spent [abroad], which we did not have, we have had to make the hard decision to spend $300,000 or $350,000 so that at least there is one book per two students. Sometimes we have had to make these decisions of having one book per two students. It is then when we understand the importance of the habit of taking care of books, uniforms, school supplies, equipment, furniture, buildings, everything. It is then when we understand and have an overall idea of the circumstances under which we have had to undertake this educational effort, I would say a heroic one, so that no child is left without school and no youth is left without the opportunity of studying. Many times the effort of each year has been agonizing and anguishing when--despite all the schools plus wooden secondary schools and urban secondary schools--we found that in such and such a province so many youngsters, 10,000 or 15,000, are left [for whom there is no space]. There is the effort every year preparing installations and houses so that we can have no youngster in a province without school. This must be understood to understand the meaning of creating habits, consciousness, discipline and respect toward all the property that belongs to the people for which they pay with their work. To all this must be added the fact that we must repair factories, repair schools every year, repair hospitals, repair housing units and [consider] whether there is enough cement and paint. All this requires a very rigorous distribution effort and requires rigorous attention. The schools currently are administered by the local people's government organs and methodologically administered by the Education Ministry. There is much insistence, much insistence with the comrades of the party at each province, with party leaders, with the leaders of people's government because, of course, all the schools do not have the same construction quality. Some were better built than others. However, even a well-built school requires maintenance and, at the same time, care. The students, school directors and professors not always concern themselves with this. Not all concern themselves with discipline. Not all concern themselves with the organization [of the school]. Not all concern themselves with the attitude of students, with the quality of teaching, with the care of the school and school materials. And there are stories ranging from the case of food poorly prepared and no one caring, to the case of a neighbor who passes by the school, enters the school and has lunch there; or, according to some stories I have heard, a neighbor who suddenly visits the school and sleeps in the school. Well, such things cannot happen in a well-organized school. We must be aware of the responsibility educators have, the responsibility they have in our society, in our social system, in our revolution and in our future because the teachers and professors work with the children and youths. The success of our revolution, the security of our future and the success of our socialism will depend, to a great extent, on what the educators are capable of doing. [applause] Nothing, no material mechanisms of any type can replace the consciousness of man. Discipline is obtained under capitalism through the most brutal repression of all types. Under socialism, the fundamental thing must be man's consciousness and this is irreplaceable regardless of the methods or mechanisms that socialism can use. Of course, there is no recourse except taking a thief to court. We cannot depend on a thief's consciousness to behave and not steal. Thus, police, investigations and prisons are necessary. All this is necessary and, as a matter of fact, we do not apply them correctly and properly. In any case, there must be an effort not to have thieves. Why are there thieves? It is a question we must ask ourselves. Why are there criminals? I am no specialist on this matter but I am certain that if the reasons why an individual fell into crime are analyzed conscientiously, we would find the deficiencies in his education and development, the bad influences he received in his life, the bad influences he received (?from) his family, the bad influences he received from the environment in which he was raised and the bad influences from the world around him. And an educator must struggle against all such bad influences, beginning with the influence exercised by the family itself. Such influence could be very useful and extraordinarily positive. In fact, our educational system is based on the backing and support for the family. But many times its influence is a negative one. A youngster is guided very much by the example he sees and, above all, he guides himself by the example set by his teachers, school leaders and school workers. If youngsters get used to seeing lack of discipline, they create habits of lack of discipline, disregard of discipline and unconcern for discipline. If he sees thefts, he begins to acquire indifference toward these problems of moral standards, If he sees disorder, he begins to reject order. I believe, always have believed and, logically, I think you also believe that education is the most powerful weapon available to man to create ethics, consciousness, a sense of duty, a sense of organization, a sense of discipline. And actually, I believe that if there is a place where there is no room for any tolerance or softness, that place is the school. And we always have been in favor of the teachers having all the authority they require and that society grant them that authority. But it is not enough that society grants them that authority. Each of you must gain it through your behavior and example. Each of you must be a militant in being demanding at the schools. And if the director is not a demanding person, the group [of teachers] must evaluate him at meetings. You must point out, criticize and untiringly fight everything that is poorly done at the schools where you work. You know that youngsters are precisely at that age in which they are susceptible to very positive influences as well as negative ones. You know and you should know that the ideological struggle has not ended just because we have had 20 years of revolution. The fact that the revolution is solid does not mean that the ideological struggle has disappeared. To the contrary, imperialism knows that this country of today is not the same as that of 20 years ago. This is a more solid, stronger and experienced country. Imperialism knows that the influence of the Cuban revolution today is incomparably greater than 20 years ago. Imperialism, which at first perhaps underestimated our people and our revolution, does not underestimate them now. As long as socialism exists on the one hand and capitalism and imperialism on the other, there will be a hard ideological struggle and in the most subtle ways. And you have the sacred mission and fundamental role to develop the consciousness and ethics of the future generations of Cubans. [applause] You have declared here, you have pledged clearly and precisely a specific conduct and to strictly adhere to your oath. We have confidence in you, complete confidence in you. We have special confidence in you because you responded when the call to form the detachment was made. You have performed your duties as education workers and students. You have graduated after 5 years of study plus 2 more to obtain your licentiate. The comrades of the third contingent responded and worked and studied for 5 years to graduate. And I am certain that the immense majority will continue with higher studies and that in coming years we will have increasing graduations of licentiates in education and of professors from the second and fourth contingents and the third and fifth because even the fifth contingent will have to study the 2 years necessary for the licentiate. We will then have graduations of the last contingents with the first students who joined [the Manuel Ascunce Domenech detachment] with a bachelor's degree. we will have increasing graduations in coming years. However, the thing that interests us is the quality of your work, that work you have pledged to do, the accuracy of your work; and your being demanding, I repeat, being demanding because we are lacking in enough will of being demanding. [applause] This will require an effort of the party, state, mass organizations and all the people. It would be preferably to hear complaints that too much is demanded than the complaints we hear that nothing is demanded. Of course, there will be complaints. This is so because when discipline begins, there is always a spirit of opposition to demands. This is certain, However, when it is known that things are poorly done in various places because there is not enough struggle against them, we must be untiring and implacable in fighting them everywhere, especially in education. I said that we have confidence in you. I also say that we have hopes with you and primary school teachers because we know and are aware of the infinite wealth we have in you and of the experience that you are accumulating and will accumulate so that we can say in the future that we have the best teachers. We also want to be able to say that we also have the most revolutionary teachers, [applause] the most solid bulwarks of the revolution and the most conscientious. To reach this point, you will have to be full of the spirit of our workers, of the proletarian spirit. And having a proletarian spirit means to struggle without rest against what we could call petit bourgeois weaknesses [applause], petit bourgeois defects [applause], petit bourgeois vices because only a bourgeois or petit bourgeois spirit allows not caring for the destruction of a piece of furniture or equipment or for the existence of lack of discipline, deficiency, weakness and tolerance. You must fight against that spirit wherever you are and fight against yourselves if circumstances or the environment generate these petit bourgeois manifestations in any of you. Discipline belongs to the spirit of the worker and it means being punctual and strictly fulfilling all obligations. Each of you must fulfill your obligations regardless of difficulties before you can demand it of others. And we know that there are difficulties. We recently analyzed some of the difficulties in Havana Province. We could see different problems and that it was hard sometimes to find teachers in our capital for the pre-university and secondary schools in the countryside. We even noted that this was more difficult in Havana than in the other provinces and that the problems were getting worse. We saw, of course, that subjective factors existed without ignoring the existence of objective ones also. Unfortunately, we have not been able to provide housing to all the teachers near their school. This is just to cite one example. Unfortunately, often the individual effort that is required is too big when [teachers] have to travel every day from Havana to the interior and they have to get up early and return late. Yes, we know that we have difficulties and that we are surrounded by difficulties. On the other hand, we would not have what we have today if we had become discouraged. We would not have those 1.2 million students we are going to have at the intermediate level. We would not have eliminated illiteracy. We would not have 50,000 students in the higher education institutes. We would not have these graduations. We would not have tens of thousands of youths in the teacher training detachment. We would not have the internationalist detachment. What we have achieved we have done so because we courageously tackled difficulties and overcame them. We have difficulties and we are going to continue having them for a long time. We cannot be naive. We cannot be idealistic. It was up to this generation to make the greatest efforts. Others did it in the past, in 1868, in 1895, without having had the pleasure of seeing this free and independent homeland. We have had a much greater privilege. We have not only enjoyed the complete sovereignty of our country, but also we have had the revolution and the opportunity to create and build our own future and shape and develop our own life. Man is an extraordinary raw material. Poorly managed, it can produce bad consequences. Well developed, this raw material can produce miraculous things. Therefore, if we compare our current problems and difficulties with those of the past, we would see that they are infinitely less. However, there are difficulties and we must not close our eyes and say that they do not exist. We must recognize that they exist. And we must fight them, tackle them and fulfill our objectives. What will be the result of our work? Look to the future. Think of the future. Can you imagine a society not of illiterates or semi-illiterates as we were 20 years ago? Think of our society 20 years from now. And to speak of 20 years from now to you does not mean much because you are going to be professors 20 years from now and still young. I saw the most outstanding ones when I presented them with their certificates. We know many of them because the detachment, among its many successes, has attracted many comrades from the Federation of University Students and the president of the federation. [applause] Think of the future. Look 20 years ahead. Compare that image you can form a nation in which it may seem laughable that at one time there existed illiteracy or semi-illiteracy; a nation with a society of an educational level of pre-university and above. That will be the society of the future. That is the society that is in your hands as professors and teachers. And the value of that society will depend on your best work. [applause] That is what we ask of you as you graduate today. We thank you for all your responses when the detachment was created, for keeping up with your studies, for graduating and because you are capable of continuing with higher studies. We thank you for the massive response you have given. You are men and women capable of setting and reaching a goal and whatever goals are necessary. [applause] Fatherland or death, we will win. [applause] -END-