argia.eus
INPRIMATU
They report that the City of Pamplona has boosted the reduction of demand in Euskera in children's schools
  • Analyzing the pre-registration data, it seems that fewer fathers and mothers will send their children to the Basque model. The government team of the City of Pamplona considers that the supply in Euskera has decreased.
Mikel Eizagirre 2020ko abuztuaren 21
Euskal Haur Eskolaren aldeko manifestazioa Iruñean. Argazkia: Eginklik.org

Children's schools in Euskera are expected to receive fewer registrations in Pamplona during the course of 2020-2021, after the City Council of Pamplona reduced the offer. The Euskaraz Administrazioa Group (AET) has denounced this fact and submitted a list of assessments.

First, AET has stressed that the choice of parents is "very conditioned", as it is the City Council that decides how far the demand in Euskera can go. The previous government team expanded the offer, but also clarified that it was a "limited" offer, since it did not reach the majority of neighborhoods. On the other hand, and to the extent that Early Childhood Education is not mandatory, parents do not have a secure place. In this regard, the promoter stressed that "it is a big problem" that if the two parents work they do not get a place in the center. As demand exceeds supply every year, parents resort to children's schools that offer many places. They have therefore warned that the choice of language becomes “second or third”. Therefore, they concluded that the City Hall's position in the election "influences much more than the will of the parents".

The City Council of Pamplona has limited the offer in Basque to two children's schools, and AET considers that the real competition between the models in Basque and Spanish has been "in few neighborhoods". In Donibane and Arrosadía, for example, second-year children had no choice but to choose the Basque language. Therefore, the group considers that it is “very difficult” to make comparisons.

At the Rochapea, the Basque offer has been reduced to half of a children's school and they say it has been "noticed". The Basque petition by Goiz Eder has “easily” passed the Spanish/English model with 47 and 24 registrations, respectively. But the balance has been in favor of Spanish, with places also offered by Childhood in Spanish: 47 and 61. In the chantrea, Izartegi sings Hello Egunsenti and Santa Teresa in Spanish, as both add 38 and 24 figures. Although they believe it has been an "easy victory", they have remembered that in Izartegi a total of 12 seats have been left unfilled. According to AET, the only children's school in Euskera "is in a neighborhood with few children", and although it is superior to the other two children's schools, they warn that it suffers "scarcity of children".

The Government of Navarra offers a dual offer in two children's schools, in Basque and in Spanish. This year in the Casco Viejo, in Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, the demand in Basque has exceeded that of Castilian, 24 and 21. In San Jorge, the demand in Euskera has been strengthened, with 20 children, of whom 5 have remained on the waiting list. However, in this neighborhood the demand in Spanish is higher, specifically 38.

Necessity of the fight

In neighborhoods where competition has been strict, the demand in Euskera “has not been bad”, said AET, but has concluded that the supply of the City Hall conditions “radically” the overall result of the city and in this case moves in favor of Castilian. In addition, Herri Haur Eskola’s project has not moved forward, due to the problems it has had throughout the pandemic. In any case, they have pointed out that to expand the offer it is necessary to "fight neighborhood to neighborhood". He pointed out that the supply in Euskera "cannot be conditioned by a group of incapacitated workers", and that the choice of appropriate workers is "the responsibility of the City Hall".