It all started on October 9, 2013. Also then, the Minister of Education, Cristina Uriarte, presented the 2020 Heziberri Plan. This plan would have three projects: the pedagogical framework, the curricular decrees and the Basque Education Act. The counselor presented his star plan on the eve of the largest national demonstration against LOMCE and for a Proper Education System to be organized in Bilbao, which was the previous legislature.

That day, in order to manipulate the opinion of the people and align it with the interests of the PNV, the permanent marketing campaign that has been carried out by the Department of Education to date began. A plan was initiated that included the ideological burden of the NIP. A plan that places education on a mercantilist, centralist and autonomist objective. Because although most of the agents of the educational community, the addresses of the centers, the workers, the students, the families, etc. We've said otherwise, on Cristina Uriarte's lips, we've heard the same motto for five years. “Heziberri 2020 is a project that has the consensus of all.” Lie as it is. Once again Gorka Urbizuri stealing the words “the refrain of always!”.

Over the years, Uriarte has remained as before. Heziberri has continued to develop, deepening the autonomism and applying the LOMCE. And without any kind of dialogue, the Education Agreement. Discussion of the Fundamentals of the Agreement was initiated by the Council.

A monographic debate on this document took place last Monday in the Committee on Education of the Basque Parliament. One day that could be an important milestone for the educational system of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, was totally different. A mere formality.

The process has been insignificant. It has been directed and controlled by the Department of Education. The Department of Education has determined what, how and who to work in form and content. In the words of Cristina Uriarte, the same motto: “The document has broad support from the educational community.” Upon arriving in Parliament, Uriarte also wanted to close the document with the debate between the parties of one morning and “sell” it with the support of Parliament.

The content is extremely serious. It has to be said clearly and with all the crudety that it may entail. The contents contained in the document are clearly detrimental to the Basque educational system. The PNV, for its part, wanted to move forward with both the PSE and the pp. In the committee I listened to the representative of the PNV who did not understand how the second (EH Bildu) and the third (US We) forces of this country were left out of the Agreement. What I do not understand is how the PNV has not wanted to seek any agreement with forces 2 and 3 of this country; how the PNV has never wanted to hear the opinion of EH Bildu; how the PNV has never come into contact with EH Bildu; and even more, how the PNV, in education, wanted to “directly deny this country the latest political forces”. That is the most serious thing.

The education system that has been imposed on us has failed, and I believe that this failure must be highlighted in capital letters. With the issue of canteens a parliamentary research committee is open and quality is getting worse, the stability of teachers and management teams is absolutely unstable, competition in Euskera has obtained the worst data of all times and this system of obsolete models is not able to euskaldunize all students as it is due, the socio-economic gap between students is increasingly evident for the management, it is an irreversible process.

This educational system has nothing but cracks and in the face of this situation, again reminding Berri Txarrak, what is the Department of Education going to do, “to live or survive?” To live as a sovereign people or to remain as a dependent community? Will the popular strategy for the future of a new, public and sovereign educational system be pursued in order to maintain the supposed comfort situation of this system that generates imbalances?

At EH Bildu we are clear that we need a firm Education Agreement that will enable a new Basque Education Act sooner than later. If we agree that Education is a country pillar, we cannot deny that it is one of the most important debates our people have. Therefore, there is also a need for a country agreement on this issue. Our education has to live. We all have to get out of the parameters that are rooted today and encourage you to live. We cannot condemn our people to remain. Because the Basque oasis of education that is already exhausted does not exist and for us to give it a new impetus will also come from the entire educational community and from EH Bildu.

To do so, a sincere agreement and necessarily with a broader view of education, which seeks agreements between the whole community, both with the agents of formal education and with those of non-formal education. Deep process without vetoes. In addition, the framework of this possible new law, basically, is that of the “exclusive educational competencies” defined in the Self-Government Update Report for the new Political Status. Base 1. They will necessarily have to develop competences. We started this work. “Time is the only polygraph.”

Ikoitz Arrese Otegi, Secretary of Education of EH Bildu.