This was announced by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, at his weekly news conference Tuesday.

He said selection for the 2003-2004 academic year will be done in phases and already three students have been enrolled at Cuban institutions pursuing a sports degree programme, while 24 have been selected to study medicine.

Selection of another 70 students who will be engaged in the fields of engineering and agricultural and health sciences is ongoing, he said.

He noted that the first batch of 124 students is studying at various Cuban tertiary institutions, in the fields of engineering, medicine and agriculture, among others.

Asked how the first batch of students is performing, Luncheon said an assessment of their academic performance is not yet available as they are spending the first year studying the Spanish language. He added that in terms of discipline there have not been any major concerns and all indications are that their conduct is of a high standard.