Exactly one year ago, on April 7, 2022, the Basque Parliament gave the green light to the “historic” agreement on the basis on which the future Education Law of the Basque Autonomous Community (CAV) will be drafted. The educational pact received the support of 90.6% of the Basque Chamber, 68 of the 75 parliamentarians, all political groups except PP+Cs and Vox.
The agreement between PNV, EH Bildu, PSE-EE, Elkarrekin Podemos-IU, among other things, establishes that Basque education will be structured as “a multilingual system whose axis is Euskera” and considers various measures to strengthen the weight of the school audience and to combat segregation.
This year, however, difficulties have arisen that have delayed the adoption of the new education law. In this context, EITB has spoken with representatives of the PNV, EH Bildu, PSE-EE, Elkarrekin Podemos-IU and PP+Cs to find out what stage the project is at.
Of the GDP, Leixuri Arrizabalaga, is optimistic and believes that the Basque Parliament will pass the new education law in this legislature. According to him, it is “irrelevant” that the Board of Governors approves the draft education law in March or April. When this happens, the parliamentary process begins and, according to Arrizabalaga, it is time to make proposals or make changes to that basic document.
Arrizabalaga says it is still early to say how many groups will support the education bill, but he would like the four groups that signed the education pact to do the same.
The parliamentarian of PSE-EEEkain Rico, has acknowledged that although the calendar is tight, it is possible to pass the law in this legislature, adding that the law is intended to come into force in the 2024-2025 academic year.
The PSE-EE hopes that the four-member agreement will be maintained and even expanded.
Ikotz Arrese, van EH Bildu, is confident that the new law can be passed in the same legislature after taking into account contributions from the educational community and parliamentary groups. Arrese has also urged the Abertzale coalition to ensure that the legal text is as faithful as possible to the education agreement.
On the other hand, EH Bildu’s parliamentarian believes that it is possible that the new law will get the support of the four formations that signed the education pact.
The spokesperson for Elkarrekin Podemos-IU, Miren Gorrotxategi, is more pessimistic and believes that the Basque government is taking steps back on public schools and segregation. Despite all this, it is difficult to maintain their support.
Gorrotxategi has once again denounced the non-compliance with the education pact. “With this weaving, it is difficult for the Education Act to bring good things into the system, hopefully the government should withdraw the things it is doing so far,” he added.
Carmelo Barrio, MP of PP+Cs, has confirmed its rejection of the future education scheme of the Basque Autonomous Community. In his view, for his group to change its mind, his group must put students and families at the center of the education system, Spanish must be on an equal footing with Euskera as the backbone of the system, and families must have the freedom to choose the centrum and linguistic model.
Likewise, he has criticized the “imposition” of EH Bildu in this bill.
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Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
