The summer holidays for children and young people in Iparralde have been completed. On 1 September, classes have started with a significant change over the last two courses: they will not have to comply with any special measures against COVID-19. Two out of three students will study in the public network and one out of three will study in Basque (in the immersion model or in the bilingual department), as specified in the portal Naiz.eus.

As for the ikastolas and colleges in Seaska, President Peio Jorajuria told Euskadi Irratia that this year there will be one hundred more students than last year in Zuberoa, Nafarroa Beherea and Lapurdi. He acknowledges that this is a “great challenge”, but that they will continue to face the challenges; among others, the low and brebeta tests will continue to fight for the right to pass it in Basque. Also, Jorajuria explains that work has begun on opening the new college in Senpere (Lapurdi). They are scheduled to be available for the 2023-2024 course.

Immersion model in more centres

They have also started with innovations in the immersion model: In Irisarri, Larrain and Barkox will have new immersion classes. Irisarri (Nafarroa Beherea) will be the first to offer immersion classes in Basque for first-year students, as until now it was only offered in the mother's school. The school’s principal, Julie Pons Kazeta.eus, has told the media that it is “victory”, “the response to a rapid mobilization”. Pons hopes it will be “the beginning of the change of the public school”.

Larraine and Barkox (Zuberoa) will offer an offer in Basque in the mother's schools and the children of these villages will learn for the first time in the immersion model.

New premises in Ziburu, not fit in Beskoitz

The students of the Ziburu Public School (Lapurdi) were divided into three buildings, but this year everyone has joined the new premises of the Marinela School. In the words of Mr. Eneko Aldana, they have made that change to “give a new dynamic to the public school of Ziburu”, because in recent years students were shrinking.

Moreover, in Beskoitz (Lapurdi) the course has not been initiated in the desired manner. To the ikastola Beskoitze of Seaska the Casa Consistorial has not given him what he asked. As students have been growing year after year (in 2013 they started with three children), they have been left with little space and 54 students will have to continue studying in a space of 400 square meters, in three prefabricated.