Cuban education system is an example to third world countries

1. Various, school children singing national anthem 2. Various, children entering school 3. Various, Latin American Educators Conference 4. Close up, Fidel Castro, President of Cuba 5. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Fidel Castro, President of Cuba: "I couldn't be a disciplined child, nevertheless, I liked schoolwork, sports, I received good grades. But, I learned how to study by myself because they didn't show me the mathematical rules of addition and multiplication. This is the history upon which I base my experience, as a boy, as an adolescent and as a youth." 6. Various, pupils in schoolrooms with their parents 7. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Cristina Ramirez, Teacher: "Well, in my country education is free, the children receive free educational material, the books, the pencils, their notebooks, everything. What has to be paid is lunch. And it only costs seven pesos per month." 8. Various, children in classrooms 9. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Fernando Gonzalez, Parent: "In our social system, we have have a central premise - be cultured to be free. From that premise, all parents feel proud that our education is guaranteed from an early age. Our future, the future of our children and of the country." 10. Close up, parent with child 11. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Yusnavy Perez, Parent: "Our teachers are sacred. We have confidence in the Commandante, he worries about fixing the schools. In this school, where my parents and uncles studied, the improvements made have been total. Almost all the schools here in the capital and throughout the country are in the same state." 12. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Gustavo Hernandez, Parent: "This is the first day of school for my child, and today his classes start here. My hope is that he learns, that he becomes somebody." 13. Various, children with parents and teachers STORYLINE: Cuba's much admired educational system has suffered since an economic crisis gripped the island nation in the early 1990's, but it is still held as a model example throughout Latin America. More than 2 million school children people are provided with free education, food and the tools of scholarship. The government claims a 98 percent literacy rate in the country, far higher than almost anywhere in Latin America and at a similar level to the U-S and Europe. Although budgets have shrunk for school repairs, books and other materials, the Cuban Government has managed to continue building schools throughout the country, meeting a growing demand by an increasingly young population. Cuba claims the 42-year old U-S economic blockade of the island has hindered the development of its educational system. Cuban officials say they will continue a programme to distribute more than 300,000 donated Chinese television sets to schools and homes throughout the island. The programme is the extension of an existing project to bring computers into classrooms across the country. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f315bc1aa83d9e31512b4cb31fd038ee Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork