The Honduran government will pay 10,000 lempiras (about US$406) a month as salaries to the 123 Cuban teachers deployed in that country to teach the Yo Sí Puedo literacy method.
In total, the Honduran Ministry of Education will receive 44 million Lempiras (approx. The Honduran EL Heraldo, who had access to the agreement signed by the two governments, during the three-year term of the agreement.
“The mayors will help you with the room, the house and some supplies. The state will give each of them a grant of 10,000 lempiras,” Nelson Castellanos, president of the Association of Municipalities of Honduras (Amhon), confirmed to the newspaper.
Ahmon must contribute 3,000 lempiras ($122) for each Cuban teacher to pay for housing.
El Heraldo’s information does not specify whether this monthly stipend goes directly to Cuban teachers or whether, like in other missions, the island’s government is responsible for administering and reducing these salaries.
According to the agreement, the island’s teachers will train more than 60,000 Honduran teachers, spread across the 18 departments, in the Cuban literacy method.
The revelation of these numbers has reignited controversy among Honduran political forces after months ago Education Secretary Daniel Sponda assured that they would not be giving grants to Cuban teachers.
Likewise, some industries do not find it sensible for teachers who ostensibly come to train to remain in the country for so long, nor do they charge such a burden to the state budget.
Many also fear the ideological bias of Cuban teaching.
“We need cooperation from other countries in education and health. But bringing 123 teachers seems like a lot to me, I want to believe that Cubans are not coming to replace jobs, but to form a platform,” said Nelson Cálix, director of the Honduras Technical Institute (IHT).
Cálix considers it outrageous to bring more than 120 Cuban teachers, since their function will only be training.
Weeks ago, the National Party of Honduras denounced that the Cuban teachers sent to that country were acting as such Agents of ideological interference and warned the population to be careful.
late last December at least 123 Cuban teachers arrived in Honduras to take part in the literacy campaign promoted by Xiomara Castro’s left-wing government.
The Cuban educators arrived in Tegucigalpa and were received by former President and Advisor to the President, Manuel Zelaya, husband of the current Honduran President.
After the announcement of this deal with the island’s government last August, it was unleashed in Honduras a heated controversy for fear that national teachers would lose their jobs with the arrival of the Cubans.
Xiomara Castro’s government tried to contain the excitement caused by the controversy, arguing that Cubans would only support but not jeopardize the jobs of Honduran professionals.
“These are technicians who would come, and they will increase the knowledge of the colleagues who will facilitate (the classes),” Deputy Secretary of Education Edwin Hernández said on the occasion.
Hernández also assured that Cubans would use the Yo Sí Puedo literacy method, which had already been put into practice in that country during the government of Manuel Zelaya.
He also said that the arrival of these teachers “did not represent a great expense for the state compared to the benefit of eliminating illiteracy and developing the second part of ‘I can,’ which is ‘I can advance,'” which according to the statement – will allow adults to complete their basic education and study a career in less time.