- A new public school – Paderborn-Lezkairu – has been built in the Malaga neighbourhood of Lezkairu and this course has been incorporated. It is a center of the Language Learning Program (PAI) that offers the possibility to study in Spanish and several subjects in German, but has no model D.
The controversy arises when President María Chivite states that there is no model D because there has not been enough demand to learn Basque. And the main newspaper on the right of Navarre, for example, today dedicated its title to this topic: “The center of Lezkairu will not have in this course a model D for lack of demand.” He explained that there had been only three requests and sent them to other centres in the area. This centre has so far been on the avenue of Zaragoza and has been on the PAI programme, instead of giving the usual English, with the German.
However, LAB has opened another one of yours on the networks and announced that “the families concerned say they did not know that this center was going to teach in Basque.” And they denounce that this is “one more attack on the Basque”.
School and AMPA attitude
In the following morning, Hernaiz Otxandorena, from the Basque group in the Lezkairu neighborhood, was also interviewed in Euskalerria Irratia, who explained that it is not entirely true what the Department of Education said: “We are aware that when the period of application was opened, the families did not receive the appropriate position from the management or from the parents’ association.”
In the laughs of the Otxotorena, a family informed them of their interest in model D, but when they came to gather information the management of the center did not guarantee that it was. On the contrary, they were told by the AMPA that they preferred not to have model D.
Otxotorena explained on the radio that in the face of the situation the families interested in model D have come to other nearby centers such as Mutiloa, Mendillorri Mendigoiti or the South of the Miracle. It also recognizes that so far it has been very difficult for them to bring together the Basque community in the neighbourhood.
The radio Euskalerria has also explained that several families in Lezkairu have sent the poster of the offer of the center at the time of enrollment: Spanish, German and English were offered, but there was no choice in Euskera. The poster was also in Spanish.