Nearly 14,000 foreign students are studying on free scholarships in Cuban universities.April 10: CUBAN universities have this year so far welcomed 13,945 foreign students from 113 countries, via a cooperation programme that is systematically growing.
This programme, which is free of cost to the students, began in 1961 and increased during the 1970s in response to requests by African and Middle Eastern countries, mainly for middle-level education, according to an April
10 article in the Cuban newspaper Granma.
Francisco Martínez Pérez, director of the National Office for Attention to
Foreign Students, explains that the overseas students have the same rights
and responsibilities as Cuban students; they may join the Federation of
University Students and participate in sporting and cultural activities.
Martínez Pérez adds that the goal is for those students to return to their
countries and use their acquired education to the benefit of their homeland,
given that Cuba has no need to steal trained professionals, as is the case
with powers like the United States.
As of this past term, 17,654 students had received their degrees, with 70%
of them from African countries, and it is expected that the number of those
from Latin America and the Caribbean will grow during coming terms.