Havana - More than 1,700,000 Cuban students begin this Monday the 2019-2020 school year, a figure slightly higher than the previous academic course, the Ministry of Education (MINED) reported.

According to MINED, the enrollment in pre-school day care centers this year also increased thanks to the opening of new facilities in several territories and the recovery of overs following construction works.

More than 160,000 teachers will return to the classroom, to provide coverage of 95%. The remaining posts will be filled through alternatives such as hourly contracted teachers and other initiatives.

As a result of the salary increase adopted in June this year, of almost 4,500 teachers who had presented their resignation, more than 2,200 have decided to continue teaching.

Likewise, of 1,858 retirement applications, some 1,047 have decided to continue teaching, and about 6,191 teachers who had left the sector expressed their willingness to return to the classroom, MINED sources stated.