The standard faces the final part today with the debate on the preamble in committee. Although it started with strong support, the disagreements that arose along the way led to EH Bildu and Elkarrekin Podemos withdrawing from the agreement, so the agreement is expected to only go ahead with the support of PNV and PSE-EE.
GA | EITB MEDIUM
After an extensive processing process marked by meetings and disagreements, the new Basque education law is entering its final phase. Next Tuesday, the Education Working Group will meet in the Basque Parliament with the aim of reaching consensus and finalizing the final text of the law. However, the prospects are challenging, as EH Bildu announced yesterday through its general coordinator Arnaldo Otegi that it would vote against. With the opposition of this party, the approval of the law will depend solely on the favorable votes of the PNV and its partner PSE-EE.
Of the discrepancies, the one regarding language models stands out. PNV and PSE-EE They reached an agreement at the last minute for the introduction of language models in the future education law, an issue that led to the rejection of EH Bildu.
What path has the new education law taken?
March 18, 2022: PNV, EH Bildu, PSE-EE and Elkarrekin Podemos-IU conclude a ‘historic’ agreement on the education law to end segregation, advocate secularism and put Basque at the center. PP+Cs and Vox withdrew from the political agreement.
April 7, 2022: The Basque Parliament approves the foundations for the future education law thanks to the positive votes of the signatories of the education pact.
June 15, 2022: EH Bildu and Elkarrekin Podemos-IU warn that certain decisions of the Ministry of Education could violate a number of obligations under the pact. The four signatory parties are meeting to remove all doubts about this and to restore mutual ‘trust’.
September 14, 2022: The Basque government is finalizing the draft of the future education law and a one-month period is being opened for citizens to make their contributions. Once the draft was made public, Elkarrekin Podemos-IU is critical of the text and denounces that “the agreements are not being fulfilled”, referring to the defense of public education. Trade unions such as Steilas and ELA and Euskalgintzaren Kontseilua also show their rejection of the proposal and state that the contributions made have not been collected.
September 15, 2022: The PP+C faction believes that the draft education law is ’empty’ and criticizes that it does not provide solutions to the ‘main problem: quality’.
September 19, 2022: The Steilas union announces a conflicting course if the text of the bill is not changed, since in its opinion the future law “pursues the survival of private educational centers and does not place Basque at the center. For its part, Ikastolen Elkartea shows its disappointment with the draft because “it does not take a solid step towards the Basque education system itself.”
September 26, 2022: EH Bildu emphasizes that the educational community must be an active part of the debate on the new education law in order to undertake the “transition to its own education system”.
October 10, 2022: Kontseilua and seven agents from the education community present a joint proposal. Among other things, they are committed to a ‘general and inclusive’ language model, so that ‘the new generations are Basque and multilingual, on the path of justice, equality and social cohesion’.
October 14, 2022: Education receives proposals from 35 social agents for the new Education Act.
November 5, 2022: The platform in support of the Basque public school Euskal Eskola Publikoaz Harro Topagunea is holding a demonstration in Bilbao to protest against the “measures in favor” of the private network. The platform advocates expanding the public network, reducing cooperation between private schools, increasing audits and allowing their publication.
November 17, 2022: The education pact is shaky after the Basque government’s offer to PP+Cs to organize two-year classrooms in private schools. This offer arouses distrust among the signatories, and Elkarrekin Podemos-IU accuses the Vitoria-Gasteiz executive of ‘breaking the pact’.
November 30 and December 13, 2022: ELA, LAB and Steilas, majority public education unions, reject the bill and stage a two-day strike.
December 10, 2022: In Durango (Bizkaia), 17 groups and makers associated with Basque culture express their concerns about the content of the draft education law, which, according to them, does not guarantee the knowledge and transmission of Basque culture.
April 10, 2023: Elkarrekin Podemos-IU denounces that the Basque government is “not complying” with the education pact and although they are “committed” to the agreement, they are not in favor of supporting the standard at this time.
April 25, 2023: The government approves the Education Law project. The PSE-EE criticizes that the text does not meet all the stated objectives, while EH Bildu welcomes the changes in the text compared to the first draft. Elkarrekin Podemos-IU and PP+Cs in turn announce amendments for the whole; The left-wing coalition assures that the project “wants to protect universal agreement” and that it “lacks the commitment to end segregation”, and the popular coalition denounces that the project “imposes the Basque language” and a situation of “national emergency” creates. .
May 5, 2023: Ikastolen Elkartea believes that the bill is “valid and a great progress”, although they criticize the lack of specificity in the text.
October 3, 2023: EH Bildu announces that it will submit 146 partial amendments to “improve” the bill.
October 4, 2023: PNV and PSE-EE announce a joint amendment to change the current language models so that Basque and Spanish are vehicle languages. This partial correction causes discomfort for EH Bildu.
October 19, 2023: PNV, EH Bildu and PSE-EE reject the amendments in their entirety and continue the debate on the almost 300 partial amendments tabled by all groups. Within the debate, language models are central, and EH Bildu announces that it will not support the law “in any way”.
November 17, 2023: EH Bildu asks for details regarding the linguistic models proposed by the PNV and PSE-EE, warning that, if “clarity” is not granted to the text, the end result will be a law that is “ambiguous, full definitions and with the possibility of making contradictory interpretations.” Education Minister Jokin Bildarratz, in turn, warns that this is “an outdated debate.”
November 20, 2023: The coordinator of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, assures that EH Bildu will vote against the Education Law, “if nothing changes”, referring to the language models. For his part, Jokin Bildarratz explains that he would not consider it a personal failure that the law was approved only by the partners of the Basque government (PNV and PSE-EE).
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.
