- The directors of all the CAPV educational centers that teach Early Childhood Education were convened last week by the Department of Education of the Basque Government to discuss the enrollment process. Vice Minister of Education, Begoña Pedrosa, began the meeting when she decided to put the powerpoint in Basque and make all the explanations in Spanish, “because the issue is very technical”. This led to the anger of many managers, who eventually rose up and left the meeting.
Several people who attended the meeting told ARGIA what happened. “He argued that the issue is very technical, what argument! As if we had not been able to talk about all the issues in Basque," says one of the angry directors. After Pedrosa’s words, the director of a ikastola rose up saying that they were infringing their linguistic rights and that if the meeting were to be held in Spanish it would be out. Also the leaders of other ikastolas expressed their discomfort to him, noting that it was shameful to raise him from the vice-ministry of education.
The situation arose very tense, Pedrosa accused them of acting “aggressively”, but, according to ARGIA sources, it offered no solution to rethink the meeting linguistically. “He killed us by the head.” In the end, there were many directors who got up and left the meeting. However, Pedrosa welcomed the media meeting.
On 16 December the Department of Education organized two meetings in Vitoria-Gasteiz, on the one hand with the schools of Bizkaia and on the other with those of Gipuzkoa and Álava. One of them happened what he had told. Along with Vice-Minister Begoña Pedrosa, the Vice-Advisor for Administration and Education Services, Xabier Aizpurua, and the director of ISEI-IVEI, Eduardo Ubieta, attended.
The Ikastolas Confederation will send a letter
Following the departure of the representatives of the ikastolas, the Ikastolas Confederation has organised a new meeting with the directors of the ikastolas on 22 December, with the aim of moving what the Education Department has had. In addition, the Ikastolas Confederation intends to send a letter to the Department of Education to express its concern about the treatment of the Basque Country.