Not all manifestations have the same taste. What was organised on 4 May to express aloud the complaints of the ikastolas left us with a nice feeling. 7,000 children, parents, teachers, workers and Euskaltzales meet through a joyful and colorful tamer-filled to respond to the persecution that comes from Paris. The 36 ikastolas of Lapurdi, Baja Navarra and Zuberoa are on red alert. On this occasion, the posts at stake are those of a professor. There will be 230 more students at the ikastolas during the next course. There are 25 professors needed, but the Academy inspector has told SEASKA that he would not create a post.

The lack of teachers will directly influence the quality of teaching and will affect 2/3 of the ikastolas. In particular, fewer teachers will accumulate more students per classroom. With the classrooms of 45 students, the first harmed will be those who need the most attention: children with disabilities, students who do not listen to the Basque language outside the ikastola and those who have school difficulties.

In essence, this State spade is nothing more than the succession of a long series of the past. Yesterday, shaking the ghost of the Falloux Act, they prevented the ikastolas from collaborating with public resources. The presentation of the tests in Basque is prohibited today. Tomorrow they will try to freeze the teaching posts. Our languages are in the spotlight for the senior officials and decision-makers in Paris. And the most effective transmission channel the Basque country has, today are the ikastolas in Ipar Euskal Herria.

13,500 students study Basque in the schools of Iparralde. 25% are schooled in ikastolas, and 75% in public centers or giristinos at an hourly rate or in the 3-6 years in Euskera. In the last twenty years, knowing that the family transmission of Euskera has been reduced by ten points, all models are necessary (ikastola, public, giristino)... but it is the only effective in the transmission of the language. The only model that fully embodies children is the ikastola. The only model that proposes a real dive is the ikastola. And the only model that has grown by 80% in the last thirteen years has been ikastola. They know everything in Paris and want to hinder that progress.

In our environment, the profile of the parents of ikastola has changed a lot in recent years. With a little nostalgia, the temptation to idealize a ikastola that has never existed is quick. But it is clear that this people’s adherence to the ikastolas and the ability to mobilize SEASKA are still fast. This battle is not the first and we will have to win it. On the road to recovery, the Basque Country is assisted by human, citizen and transformative ikastolas.