Free enterprise not for teachers:

Free enterprise not for teachers: Cuba
October 11 2013 at 08:59pm
By SAPA

Havana - Cuba railed Friday against public school teachers who tutor
students privately, a practice which the government said conflicts with
their public duties.

Havana has encouraged Cuban workers to transition gradually into the
private sector, as the communist island grapples with continuing
economic hardships.

But the government drew the line at teachers who currently already earn
a paycheck from state-run schools, saying in an article in the daily
Granma state-run newspaper that it is wrong to teach "for financial" gain.

The article reminded teachers that taking private pupils on the side is
against the law in Cuba.

In 2010 President Raul Castro expanded the list of government-approved
self-employment occupations as part of a very gradual reform of its
Soviet-style economy.

Castro announced that over the following years he would also be slashing
the country's five-million strong bureaucracy Ä this on an island with a
population of about 11 million Ä as a cost-cutting measure.

Today more than 436,000 Cubans work for themselves or in small
businesses. Authorized job categories include restaurant owners,
barbers, electricians, plumbers, mechanics and other skilled trades.

The newspaper said that on average, teachers are charging private
students between $2 and $10 per class for private lessons, a sum which
is beyond the reach of many families in Cuba where the average monthly
salary is about $20.

Sapa-AFP

Source: "Free enterprise not for teachers: Cuba - World News | IOL News
| IOL.co.za" -
http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/free-enterprise-not-for-teachers-cuba-1.1590957