Larraga is located in the area declared non-vascophony by the Law of the Basque Country of Navarra, and in its San Miguel College they have the model A and B. Currently, those who opt for the model of immersion in Basque have two options: either stay in the local school, but give up studying in model D, or go to study model D to the school of Tafalla leaving the town. In fact, the school map of Navarra determines that the student of Larraga who wants to study in model D has to go to Tafalla.

For the 12 children who will be enrolled in the 3 year class next year, at least 12, who can be encouraged later, requested the implementation of model D in the month of July, so that there is this preterm offer that will be held in February. After all, parents want boys and girls to learn in their own people, so that their sons and daughters can carry out the process of life and learning in their own people. “They have the right to study in Basque in their village. This is an option that parents did not have for their children, and it is up to the Department of Education to guarantee. In addition, it is essential to ensure equal opportunities for all children of the people, as not everyone can study in it according to the language model chosen,” explains Agurne Gaubeka, director of the Observatory on Linguistic Rights. In this process, the twelve families are accompanied by the Centre and the Sortzen Association.

“Between July and February there is enough time to change the order”

In the absence of a response from the Department of Education, they request a meeting and are scheduled this Thursday. Recalling previous bad experiences, and seeing that they have not received any response since July, they look to the meeting with suspicion. “We are concerned that they will do the same thing they did in Mendigorría, that when pre-enrolment arrives, parents would not have the opportunity to sign up to model D to make an excuse to change the foral order and adapt the school map. They did so in Mendigorría and when pre-enrolment arrived the parents could not say anywhere that they opted for model D – Gaubeka tells us. In the case of Larraga, from July to February there is enough time to change the order, so it cannot be an argument, and also the school map is an instrument, but it cannot condition where to give Euskera; if there is a demand for Euskera learning, first we must guarantee the supply and then change the school map, not the other way around”.

In fact, the law requires a minimum of 8 children for the opening of the new line and a minimum of 12 in Larraga. They hope to achieve this, but, as I say, the key is when the demand will be met, “and for us it is very important that the opportunity be given at the beginning of schooling, because if you do so after having passed the preterm, these families have already conditioned them to make another opportunity and then it is more difficult to turn it around.”

In the case of Mendigorría, the judicial route began, but they did not have to thrive because, helped by social pressure, the Department of Education managed to open the line of model D. “Once again, depending on what the Thursday meeting will do, we will use the tools available.”

Opening the doors to teaching in Euskera

The Director of the Centre underlines that this is not a problem for Larraga or Mendigorría, but a general problem: “There is no active offer from the government in favor of the Basque Country, and when families demand everything is an obstacle. This situation totally conditions the Basque educational model, but we see that, once model D is implemented, more and more families support it”.

Gaubeka has also given us another nuance: Enrollment at the Colegio San Miguel has been considerably reduced, and one can also deal with the possibility of offering studies in Euskera, knowing that many move to another country to study in model D. “The future of these schools is being conditioned by the fact that both small schools and the people themselves benefit from the expansion of supply, but the Department of Education demands and continues to hinder rather than open doors to teaching in Euskera.”