argia.eus
INPRIMATU
What is the Basque school of the 21st century? Public
Mikel Basabe Kortabarria 2024ko urriaren 23a

Hunters, Marianistas, Niño Jesús, CEU San Pablo - Virgen Niña, Carmelitas, Presentation of Mary, Vera Cruz, NClic, San Viator, Escorapias, Scholapios, Bárdarias, Nazareth, Immaculate Conception, Hogar San José, Egibide. More Olabide by Eusko Ikastolen Batza. Finally, the Armenian side. These are private schools in Vitoria, all of which are concerted (i.e. financed by public money).

Remember what the CAPV Education Act says: "Article 26.– Basque Public Education Service. 3.– The provision of the public education service shall be carried out through the public and private concerted centres." And also: "Article 23.– Concerted private centres. 2.– Concerted centres providing compulsory education within the Public Service for Basque Education shall be fully funded with regard to these teachings".

I have listed the private centers of Vitoria-Gasteiz, where I live and where I am a professor. It is the second city of Euskal Herria in population, and the Basque Country has taken a giant step in knowledge, although it is in a non-Euskaldun environment. Vitoria-Gasteiz has a giant private educational network: According to the latest data from Eustat, although in Primary the public network is the majority, at 12 years of age 55% of the young people of Vitoria-Gasteiz go to the private network to perform the ESO, where only one in five will study in model D. Among those who come to the public, four out of five will do so in model D of the ESO.

Therefore, where can the discourse and practice be maintained in favour of concerted centres? On the left, how? From Euskaldunization, how? How can a "people's initiative" centre (or two) be justified? to support the financing of a dozen and a half schools, including several Euskarafobos and fully clasists, also "to finance them in full"?

It is undeniable and to thank the contribution of the ikastolas in the dark time of the twentieth century. It is to be welcomed, because at the time when public education gave no choice, we were given the opportunity to learn Basque. Thank you, therefore, to all those ikastolas, both those which were published at the end of the century and those which remained concerted.

In the twenty-first century, however, the financing of the 100 per cent concerted network (plus quotas) and the uncritical promotion in discourse and in practice weaken social cohesion, secularism and the revitalization of the Basque country.