Cuba's School Crisis: How a Fuel Shortage Is Shutting Down Universities

Cuba is facing a serious shortage of teachers and fuel that is collapsing its education system. The country's education minister said the schools were already short 24,000 teachers before the 2025–26 school year even started. Then, starting in early 2026, a fuel crisis hit hard enough that universities had to shut down in-person classes entirely by February. UPI and The Atlantic have documented what happened.

The root cause is pressure from the United States. Washington has been blocking oil shipments heading to Cuba. By late March 2026, the U.S. had successfully prevented major oil deliveries for nearly three months, the New York Times reported. When fuel runs short, everything else breaks down—power plants stop running, electricity gets cut off, and schools can't operate.

Cuba is especially vulnerable to this pressure. The country produces only about 40% of the oil it needs, which means it depends on other countries to sell it fuel. When those shipments get blocked, there's nowhere else to turn. According to Think Global Health, this shortage has affected not just schools but hospitals and all the institutions that need electricity.

How the Government Responded

In early February, Cuba's government tried to keep the most important services running. Infant-care centers and primary schools stayed open for regular classes. Secondary schools and universities moved to hybrid learning—a mix of in-person and online classes. The government said it would finish the 2025–26 school year using these new rules, Reuters reported on February 8. But the situation got worse. By May, when The Atlantic published its reporting, universities had abandoned in-person classes altogether.

Why did hybrid learning fail? Because it requires things the fuel crisis was destroying: working internet, computers for students, and enough electricity in homes to run devices and lights. The fuel shortage didn't just hit schools—it hit the power grid that schools depend on. Everything connected to electricity suffered at the same time.

Students Speak Up

In March, students at Havana University protested against the energy crisis and how it was affecting their education, AP reported. Public protest is rare in Cuba and risky for individuals who participate. The fact that students chose to demonstrate anyway—and that the government hasn't publicly backed down from its hybrid-learning plan—shows how stuck both sides are.

The same resource shortage is also hitting Cuba's hospitals. Health services are facing the exact same problem: deciding which services to keep running and which to cut back when fuel is rationed. Education is being treated the same way, with some institutions getting priority and others getting very little.

Understanding the U.S. Pressure Campaign

Here's what matters about how the U.S. is applying pressure: it's not a traditional naval blockade. The embargo between the U.S. and Cuba already prevents most direct trade. What changed since late 2025 is different. The U.S. is targeting the ships and companies from other countries that sell oil to Cuba. Using sanctions, Washington threatens to ban these foreign companies from U.S. ports if they complete oil deliveries to the island. The result is the same as a cutoff—no oil arrives—but the legal mechanism is different.

This pressure works because Cuba has existing weaknesses. Years of emigration have drained the country of working professionals, including teachers. The 24,000 teacher shortage came from people leaving for better opportunities elsewhere, a trend that accelerated as economic conditions worsened. Now Cuba is facing both the old problem (not enough teachers) and a new crisis (no fuel) at the same time.

What Happens Next

The 2025–26 school year is effectively over for secondary and university students in any meaningful way. The government's plan to "finish the year" under these conditions is really just an admission of what has already happened, not a fix. For the next school year to actually function, Cuba would need to find new sources of fuel—from Venezuela, Russia, or other countries willing to risk U.S. sanctions—or the U.S. would need to ease its pressure. As of late June 2026, neither of those outcomes looks likely in the near term.