Ricard López, 23 November 2021
The regional Minister of Education of Catalonia, Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray, and the regional Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, at a press conference in the Generalitat / DAVID ZORRAKINO – EUROPA PRESS
The Supreme Court does not admit the appeal of Catalan government against the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia-TSJC that obliges to teach at least a quarter of the classes in one of the two official languages of Catalonia
The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of the Generalitat against the sentence of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) that rejected the mandatory monolingual linguistic immersion in Catalan. A ruling that establishes that at least 25% of the classes must be taught in one of the two co-official languages of the autonomy: Catalan or Spanish.
The rejection of the appeal, and the rule of giving at least 25% of the classes in Spanish in Catalonia, has aroused the indignation of the secessionist Government, whose Minister of Education, Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray, has come to claim “a state of its own and independent so as not to depend on a judge who manifests himself on an educational system from ignorance “.
In his view, the current monolingual model in Catalan has “a broad social, pedagogical and political consensus” and “that it is a judge who arbitrarily determines the percentage of hours needed to learn a language is an anomaly and a despise for professionals “
He urges schools not to change their language plans
“It is a serious attack on the foundations of the Catalan school perpetrated by a court far away and unaware of the reality of Catalan educational centers,” said the ERC regional minister.
Despite the fact that the sentence is already firm and, therefore, mandatory for all educational centers in Catalonia, the secessionist leader has urged schools to “continue working as before and not change their Language Projects” since, according to him, “this is not about percentages.”
The Catalan government mobilizes
In her press appearance, the regional Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga (ERC), has also intervened, who has acknowledged that from the Generalitat “we will take measures”. The first of them, she has recognized, will be a summit with the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès to “evaluate a joint response.”
Garriga has alluded to the data and reports that, from the regional Executive itself and related secessionist associations, warn about an alleged decrease in the use of the Catalan language. And, based on them, “we work with social and civil agents to promote it.”
“The school in Catalonia, in Catalan”
In this sense, Cambray has warned that “social use must be increased among students and teachers” and that the Generalitat will redouble their interventions to achieve this: “To promote and defend Catalan is to promote and defend the country. The school of Catalonia, in Catalan “, has emphasized.
“What must be done is to reinforce the use of Catalan in educational centers, and we will do it firmly,” he added, before calling for an independent state.
“Broad consensus”
Among the arguments of the minister to reject the sentences, which establish that at least 25% of the classes are taught in one of the two official languages of Catalonia, Cambray has used as an argument that, at the end of their educational stage, the students of the autonomy reach full competences in both Catalan and Spanish.
The regional Minister of Education considers that the model to be followed is the one established by the Education Law of Catalonia (LEC) – which, according to him, “has a broad consensus” and “has been declared constitutional” -, while “the Council of Europe has issued reports favorable to the dive “.
“They do not know our country”
“There is no real conflict. It is not a linguistic conflict, but the action of courts that are unaware of the reality of our country. Since 2005, only 80 families have requested schooling in Spanish,” he said.
When asked if the sentence should be applied in all schools, Cambray pointed out that “the Minister of Education” – currently, Pilar Alegría – has told him that “from the ministry they will comply with the Lomloe [Organic Law of Modification of the LOE], which says that knowledge in Catalan and Spanish must be guaranteed, and that is what we have done and will do “.
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