Havana, December 22 (RHC)-- Students and professors in schools across Cuba are celebrating Teachers’ Day and the 55th anniversary of the announcement of the successful completion of the National Literacy Campaign by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, the late Fidel Castro.

The main ceremony, presided over by Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel, was held Thursday morning at Havana's Ciudad Libertad School Complex, formerly the Columbia barracks -- a stronghold of the bloody Batista dictatorship.  

On December 22, 1961, after almost two years of arduous work by brigades of trained volunteers ranging from eleven to 19 years of age, then Prime Minister, Fidel Castro, speaking at the capital’s José Martí Square, declared Cuba illiteracy-free.

During the Thursday ceremony, a message sent by Cuban Education Minister Ana Elsa Velázquez was read, in which she congratulated Cuban teachers and educators and reaffirmed their commitment to honoring Fidel's legacy.

She commended also what she described as 'the excellent work' by Cuban education professionals who are offering their services in other countries around the world, as part of Cuba's cooperation programs in the sector.