In the afternoon of October 15, the agents who defended the teaching in Basque at the public school were satisfied. The news was given by the rector of the Bordeaux Academy at the general assembly of the Basque Public Body (EEP). Children between 3 and 5 years of age from Baste Quieta School will have the opportunity to practice the model of immersion in Basque. They haven't decided when they're going to start doing that yet. However, the rector pointed out that the way experimentation is implemented, conditions should be studied. EEP President Antton Kurutxarri announced that they have agreed with French Education that they will study all the experimentation demands of the years 2020 and 2021.

According to Kurutxarri, the change of attitude of the French Government has been due to the "joint action" of elected officials and citizens of very different institutions and colors.

The last of the mass protests took place on 10 October, when a human chain toured the streets of Baiona. The same calls also took other streets and there were protests in Brittany, Alsace, Corsica, Flanders, Arpitania, Catalonia and Occitania. Before receiving the good news of October 15, Céline Etxebarn, from the Ikas-Bi association, told ARGIA: “For us the grids are very important, they are trying to install a system of immersion right in Corsica, and we know that they would also want it in Brittany.” In any case, he stated that "the circumstances are very different from those of today".

Immersion model in 19 schools

In French public schools it is forbidden by law to teach only in Basque, while bilingual public schools have been in operation since 1983. Currently there are about 100 schools in this model, approximately half of all schools. However, a door has been opened for twelve years to learn in Basque: the model of immersion in Basque. Ikas-Bi and Biga Bai are associations of bilingual fathers and mothers who, along with other movements, work in the defense of this immersion model: “We see great benefits in immersive experimentation.” This has been explained by Marie-Andrée Ouret of the Biga Bai partnership. Etxebarne agrees on this: “We realized that in the bilingual model it was very hard for them to start speaking in Euskera, and the model of immersion in Euskera in the mother schools makes it easier.”

But what is the immersion model? Immersion experiments started in 2008. At that time, the French Government drafted a law on experimentation that allowed classes to be taught for some time in another language. In application of this law, a linguistic immersion model was launched in Basque in Donibane Garazi and Azkain, with children between 3 and 5 years of age. Etxebarn has explained that in order to implement the immersion model, it is necessary to recognize the entire educational community: “We need consensus from everyone, from the pedagogical group, from the parents, from the teachers, from the house of the people…”. He added that "the Academy and the Inspectorate have to give their consent". “It requires a lot of work, especially from the associations of mothers and fathers.” The result of this work is that there is currently a model of linguistic immersion in Basque in nineteen centers. Last July, however, it was rejected on the grounds that it is an illegal model.

But why? On the one hand, in 2019, a law was published obliging mother's schools, until now, schooling was not mandatory until the age of 6. On the other hand, the French Constitution establishes the need to guarantee French in "compulsory education". “They have given a legal reason, but not a fair one,” explains Ouret. In fact, so far they have acted in the model of immersion following a legal model and the rejection has shown their political intentions Etxebarn and Ouret. However, the negatives of the public school Baste Quieta de la capital were not taken by surprise: “The schools of Irisarri and Ainhoa were the last to join the immersion model, to which they also refused in the first place, but after a long struggle they managed to establish the immersion model, so there were some pre-gestures”.

Teachers and parents are very happy with the immersion model, as they see great benefits. “Questionnaires have been carried out to measure the level of the students throughout the teaching and the results have been better among those who work in the immersion model in general and in the bilingual model. In the study of the French language, boys and girls of both models have also obtained better results.” Ouret has three children and the last one has worked on the immersion model: “I’ve seen the difference, it helps a lot, and it relied heavily since the first year. It is seen that with the Basque Country they develop more easily in the model of immersion”. In fact, they have emphasized that in the bilingual model, for example, half of the classes are made in Basque, at recess time, in the dining room and in the rest of the free hours, they speak in French: “In the immersion model they only have one teacher with whom they speak in Euskera at all times.”

Lack of Euskaldun teachers

They believe that this model of immersion has also created other needs, such as the need for Euskaldunes teachers. Both agree that in recent years there has been a great shortage of teachers and that it was a major obstacle to progress in Basque education. However, and through the work of the Public Body of the Basque Language, in recent years the training of teachers who will teach in Basque has been promoted. However, the expected fruits have not come. Fifteen Basque teachers have obtained the position of teachers, eleven of whom have been sent to the French teachings: “They have decided that no more teachers are needed to teach in Basque, but French teachers do.” This was explained by Ouret, who added that in the Basque classrooms there are about 30 children and that this is not a good way to learn. In addition, it has denounced that some centers that are in the immersion model, due to lack of teachers in Euskera, do the immersion model only for two years and, although they have demonstrated a willingness to move to three, have not offered them teachers. Etxebarne agrees on this: “There are also many difficulties in replacing professors in Basque, who are replaced by French professors.”