Education reform puts Spain, Catalonia on collision course
The Hurriyet Daily News (December 7, 2012)
Irene Rigau EFE
Education reforms and austerity measures in Spain have caused tension and separatist sentiments in the Catalonian region. At issue is the issue of teaching the Catalan language in schools. Jose Ignacio Wert (Spain’s National Education Minister) proposed that all schools focus on teaching the Spanish language in all regions, effectively removing the requirement that students in Catalonia speak Catalan in university. He also proposed that the region should fund Spanish-language private schooling for families that demanded it. Defenders of the current system, such as Irene Rigau (Catalonia regional education counselor) view the plan as an assault on cultural identity, while Wert insisted “there is no part of the reform that undervalues the importance of Catalan.”
For more information:
La Generalitat cree que las palabras de Wert responden a una “visión preconstitucional de España”
Catalans protest ‘return to Franco’ as schools are told to teach more Spanish
Barcelona soccer club defends use, teaching of Catalan language at politically sensitive time
International Education News 