Cuba concern for students on scholarship
Published:Saturday | March 7, 2026 | 12:09 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Jamaica’s decision to end its 50-year medical cooperation with Cuba has triggered concerns about how the move might impact the country’s bilateral medical scholarship programme, with at least one scholarship recipient already making contingency plans should the initiative also be scrapped.
“I pray it doesn’t have to get to that point,” the student, who requested anonymity, told The Gleaner.
The student, who has been studying medicine in Cuba under the scholarship for almost two years, said she and her parents have begun exploring other options.
“I’ve worked too hard to get to this point because, you know, the scholarship is not an easy feat to get because there are a lot of applicants. But I’ve worked too hard to get to this point to just not get my degree or not get the degree in medicine,” she said.
The Cuba-Jamaica bilateral scholarship programme allows Jamaican students to pursue full-tuition, undergraduate, and postgraduate studies in Cuba, primarily focusing on medicine, nursing, and health sciences. It covers tuition, accommodation, and meals, often requiring a five-year return service bond.
The longstanding initiative has for years signalled educational, cultural and professional collaboration between the two nations, with hundreds of Jamaicans benefiting.
“Having the scholarship, you know, now with this situation going on, plays a major factor because it just guarantees that after my time here, I won’t be in debt, I won’t have to pay to study at all,” the student said.
The student said she has reached out to relevant authorities to enquire about the status of the scholarship programme since the Jamaican Government announced the termination of the medical cooperation mission under which Cuban doctors work in the country to fill gaps in the healthcare system.
Labelling the decision “disappointing”, the student said she has been provided with assurances that nothing will change with the scholarship, but she is not convinced.
STUDENTS CONFUSED
“I feel like it’s not… it could never be that simple because these are very overlapping programmes,” the student said. “It’s very confusing because we were told that it won’t make a change, but it feels as though it has to end up making a change. Every question is very open-ended and every question has yet to be answered.”
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton told The Gleaner that there is no current indication that the scholarship programme, under which 118 Jamaican students graduated with specialities in the medical sciences up to 2018, will undergo any change.
“We have not taken a decision in terms of discouraging or preventing or not supporting anyone who is there,” he said. “As of now, I don’t know of any intention to propose any adjustments on our side.”
The minister noted that “it really is dependent on whether the Cuban government wants to change aspects of the programme”.
He stated that the number of Jamaican students on scholarships in Cuba is “relatively small”, compared with those who are paying their way.
There are approximately 320 Jamaican students studying in Cuba, 44 of whom are beneficiaries of the Cuba-Jamaica scholarship programme.
The minister said some have returned home following displacement from the ongoing fuel crisis.
The Spanish-speaking Caribbean territory has been struggling with fuel shortages after the United States imposed a blockade in January. Late last month, after the United Nations warned of an escalating humanitarian crisis, the US announced that it would allow companies to sell and export oil, gas, and fuel originating from Venezuela to Cuba.
However, it said the authorisation was not for direct sale to the Cuban government and would be limited to private-sector entities for humanitarian purposes.
The student said she had however become used to the frequent blackouts since moving to the island for university and that the most dramatic change is the increase in her transportation cost, which has gone up more than 200 per cent since January.
But, even so, she is still hopeful that she will be able to complete her studies.
“I have been through so much here. I speak Spanish. You know as much as things are very stressful, uncertain, I enjoyed my time here. I’ve met amazing professors, I’ve met amazing people. I know I’m learning the culture. There’s so much beauty here and it will just feel like such a waste to be here and then have to leave,” she said.