Progressively initiate the process of offering anyone the possibility of learning Euskera free of charge at all levels, from A1 to C2". The Basque Government has taken this initiative on the agenda of the legislature. HABE gave the news for the course that has just begun: The level A1 teaching will be "free" in the course 2024-2025. The Basque Government has adjusted the first declaration and made it clear that the tuition for the course will be "cheap". The student shall pay one quarter of the regular tuition. You can recover the money you put at the beginning of the course if you meet two conditions: Exceed level A1 with a attendance of 75%. HABE has decided to take that step at level A1 with the aim of bringing those who are far from the Basque country, both those who live here for years and the newcomers. 12% of Euskaltegis students come from the Spanish state and about 10% from outside the state. HABE says it does not want money to be an obstacle to Euskaldunes. They are aware that in this group of students there may be many in a vulnerable situation. The measure has had its effect. So far they have had 4,200 students at level A1 and more than 5,000 are expected to do so this year in the Basque Country.

This is not the novelty of this year, but it only has a second year of supply to realize the C1 level in ages between 16 and 18 years. This is the offer closest to gratuitousness: the price of tuition per course is EUR 20. Money can be recovered if these two conditions are met, i.e. 75% of assistance and overcoming a level or official recovery. Before the launch of the promotion initiative, there were about 2,700 students, and today almost doubled, more than 5.000.Todos students from A1 to
B2 and C1 between 16 and 30 years old will be able to recover the total amount of tuition paid at the beginning of the course, provided they meet the above requirements. Students over 30 years of age in C1 and all C2 can recover a part fulfilling the same condiciones.En levels

A2 and C1, students between 16 and 30 years of age can recover the total amount of tuition paid at the beginning of the course, provided that they meet the aforementioned requirements. Levels C1 and C2 make it possible to recover part of the advance money, provided that the requisitos.Varias ways

of understanding gratuity are fulfilled are the ways in which Aize
Otaño is a member of the AEK National Council. It has considered that the Basque Government is taking steps "as we understand gratuitousness", and has set as an example the offer it has made since last year at level C1 for young people between 16 and 18 years of age. "They save only 20 euros and they can recover it," the president of the Generalitat explained in a statement. However, he regretted that the use of the word 'free' has led to 'misunderstandings' in society. The Basque Government’s Minister for Culture and Linguistic Policy, Ibone Bengoetxea, announced that level A1 would be free, and Otaño says that they have seen the conclusions in the Basque Country: "People have heard it's free and it's come. We have explained to you that the time is EUR 0.60, some of which, on a weak economic level, have not been registered. Both the students and AEK understand equally what gratuity is, not as represented by HABE. Free means not to advance money."

This is how the sector understands gratuitousness: that the student does not advance money; that the attendance is greater than 75%; that he does not necessarily have to exceed the level of education; that it is free of charge at least 0 to C; that he has a forecast of 2,000 hours of school (taking into account the time the student needs up to level C1).

This was taken up by the sector in the Camino de la Gratuity proposal in 2017. In this report, the governments of Navarre and the Basque Country were urged to make linguistic policies to meet the objectives set. The report states that all Basques have the right to learn Basque for free.

The 2017 proposal was put into practice in 2022. The report, entitled The need to promote the knowledge of Euskera in adults, included the need for a "stable and lasting" structure for the entire Basque Country. It would coordinate Euskaldunization and adult literacy and would consist of: Basque Government, Government of Navarra, Basque Public Agency, Euskaltzaindia and Euskaltegis of popular initiative. Among other functions of this agency is to offer citizens a free learning service for Euskera.

Losing in the maze Otaño asks the students to
come to a one-stop shop, and the agency of Euskal Herria would achieve this goal. Today it is very common that, if the student wants to be subsidized, there are two doors in the CAV. – The situations of Navarre and the Northern Basque Country have been set out in two tables. One of the doors is HABE and the other is the community or city hall. In Euskaltegis, at the beginning and at the end of the course, explanations are given to the students to know what sources of subsidy they have and what conditions each uno.En times, each student of the same

class has to explain theirs: "We can have registered students in different localities and there are differences between municipalities. Some do not collaborate, others ask for a percentage of assistance, others demand to exceed the level, there are those who deliver part of the aid in January and another at the end of the course, some return 75% of the tuition, others 90%... On the other hand, even if they belong to the same municipality, the situation of the same must be explained at the end of the course; if they have approved, if not, according to the level they have achieved... There's a terrible salsa. These go another way, municipal aid and HABE aid. Many times, by drinking from the two sources, the students manage to recover almost everything that has the tuition. Otaño explained that the sector values the efforts of the municipalities, but "it is the Basque Government that has to offer a free service." We

have
invented hypothetical students and enrolled them in Euskaltegis from different localities. The amount paid has been calculated. These are examples of Navarra and Gipuzkoa, since in both cases the students experience similar situations.

Paul will take an eight-hour course a week in Altsasu/Alsasua. At the beginning of the course, the tuition fee is 618 euros. If assistance is guaranteed, the community will pay you EUR 260 and Euskarabidea EUR 300. He has therefore put EUR 58 in his pocket. Fátima has decided to take a seven-hour weekly course at Estella. It has advanced EUR 573. The City Council will reimburse EUR 194 if assistance is guaranteed, and Euskarabidea EUR 300 if it is covered. Therefore, 79 euros from the pocket. Axun has taken the five-hour course a week and has advanced EUR 439 in the Pyrenees area. The City Council of Aoiz will finance 40% of the assistance expenses it has made at the end of the course and Euskarabidea, 200 euros. He has paid out of his pocket EUR 63.4. Andrei has started the course with the same number of hours in Tudela and in Axun has paid the same tuition fee, 439 euros. Euskarabidea will reimburse you EUR 200 if you are guaranteed assistance, and the Errigora initiative will pay you EUR 119.5. Errigora makes a direct economic contribution to the Basque cultural activity in the area selling food in baskets in the south of Navarra. Andréi's pocket was EUR 119.5, EUR 56 more than Axun's, which has been sanctioned.

In Gipuzkoa we have taken examples of Irun and Errenteria. Six hours a week course and tuition: EUR 449. Errenteria City Hall returns 80% of the tuition if it has 85% assistance and use. The unemployed are not making money. HABE will finance the student 100% if it exceeds the level or test of access to levels A1 to B1. In C1, 20% will be returned if the test is passed. Irun City Hall, for its part, pays 100% at the end of the course if it is registered at Irun, has received 85% assistance and has exceeded a sublevel. HABE’s aid is the same as in Errenteria.

These examples show that some students manage to learn by paying just a few tens of euros. But always with the money ahead. The people who learn without moving forward are the staff of the administration, the students of certain municipalities – thanks to the cooperation of the Council – and the citizens who receive scholarships for people in vulnerable situations. At level C1, young people between the ages of 16 and 18 also work for free, at a price of EUR 20.

Navarre Three-quarters
of students do not ask for help

To get to know the photo of Navarra we went to the managing director of Euskarabide, Javier Arakama. As for associations and entities dealing with adult euskaldunization, he stated that the ecosystem is "a little complex". Like the Euskaltegis network, the subsidy system is not unified. For starters, those who are learning in any Euskaltegi do not receive subsidies. Students from Euskaltegi Zubiarte and the language schools run by the Department of Education do not have the possibility to apply for help. The support is aimed at the students of AEK and IKA, as the enrolments of both centers are much higher than those of the others dos.En

2018 the support was launched for the students of AEK and IKA, after the suspension of the UPN 2011-2015 legislature. Students pay tuition, that is, they advance the money, and once the course is finished, with 80% attendance, they are returned 60-65% of the money they have put in. Arakama explained that they intend to continue to raise this percentage, and have paid particular attention to level A1: "In addition to the general uploads, we saw that it was important to facilitate the start of the career in general. The next course I do not know if we will reach absolute gratuitousness, but we think we will be close. At the other levels, we expect to reach 75-80%." In addition to growing by a percentage, the idea is that students from other Euskaltegis, i.e. those from Zubiarte and those from language schools, also have access to aid. Zubiarte’s enrolment ranges from EUR 80 to EUR 90 and that of language schools is around EUR 100-130.

As in the
CAV, in Navarre there are also municipalities that subsidize Basque students. The two windows, the one in Euskarabida and the one in the municipalities, are compatible. Arakama explained that most city councils in the Eucharistic area support students, including the most important in the mixed area, and that in the non-Vascophony area there is a "great void". The Errigora initiative is trying to fill that hole. In Navarre, a similar trend is observed to that of the CAV, as the territorial administration does not cover all the tuition, so municipalities try to cover these deficiencies. The point is that there are municipalities that do so and others do not. Consequently, depending on the municipality to which the application is addressed, the student may receive more or less subsidies.

In
November the agents responsible for Euskaldunisation and literacy will meet, including the municipalities, which for the time being have a great deal to say in subsidies. Arakama is hopeful that the working team will meet: "We will see the direction it takes, but it is interesting that something emerges between us to avoid the chaos that is happening right now," he added. He referred to the consequences of the contributions and not the contributions of the municipalities: "That is where you have to put the matter on the table. We would like there to be equality in the centre and not so much difference, for any citizen to have all the facilities to learn Basque, both from Baztan and from Tudela."Although many do not know that there is support,
Arakama has said that the objective must

be to reach an "absolute gratuity", although he has warned that he expects more and more students to apply for help. There are 6,600 Basque students throughout Navarre. Of these, 1,100 are studying in Euskarabidea. These are State, Local and Local Government staff who learn for free without having to advance money. Apart from this group, there are another 5,500 students. Only 1,300 Navarros have requested assistance. Considering that the quantity is very small, we have asked Arakama for the reasons. Two are the main reasons he mentions. On the one hand, they consider the enrolments of Euskaltegi Zubiarte and language schools portable, they prefer not to ask for help and avoid bureaucratic accounts. On the other hand, until recently the students did not know that there was support. Demands foresee continued growth: "The number of applicants from now on is growing by 20-25% a year. Our goal is threefold: to give more to those who are already receiving, to ask those who have been a student and have not asked so far, and to get new students enrolled".

Ipar Euskal Herria Beginners
are the most affected

In Ipar Euskal Herria there is no special help to learn Basque. They have to deal with those they have received from here and there. The challenge, as in Navarre and the CAV, is to create a funding table, as explained to us by the AEK coordinator of Ipar Euskal Herria, Ihintz Oliden. The strongest line of support is the training grant offered by the French State.

Every worker has a Personal Training Account, which is paid EUR 500 per year for full-time work. Each year you can accumulate a maximum amount of up to 5,000 euros in this account. The account, as its name indicates, must be used by the worker for vocational training. People interested in learning Basque can use this resource. However, since last May the Government has placed a new condition: access to the account management platform will cost 100 euros.La portfolio is not available to anyone, it is for the workers (and for the unemployed), they cannot use it, for example, students who

are not working or pensioners. It has another big cut: Students of higher levels than A2 will be eligible for this aid, as it is an aid for training, understanding that a Basque level below this level is not valid for work. In other words, those who do not know Euskera cannot use the training bag. All the Euskaltegis of Ipar Euskal Herria are managed by AEK and Oliden has explained to us how little the training portfolio remains: At AEK, the night schools have 1,300 pupils, and this course the money raised falls below a hundred. In the words of Oliden: "Most of our students are in A1 and they cannot use the bag."

The Basque Language Public Agency (EEP) manages two scholarships. One is working in Basque. There are areas considered as priorities for professionals to work in Basque, such as teaching, leisure, culture and the media. Help is for them. To access the scholarship, it is necessary to have a professional project. The second scholarship has been given in Basque. It is aimed at teachers and teaching staff who serve in public centres.

The New Aquitaine region is also supported. However, instead of directly subsidizing the students, the Basque Country collaborates by paying for the itineraries. It's for journeys from 0 to B2.

In addition to the financing of public institutions, several private companies decide to help their employees. The houses of the people do not subsidize the students. The Basque College conducts a communication campaign in September to promote the learning of Euskera among the citizens.

Need to harmonise UEMA and HABE aid

The main criterion of the Commonwealth of Basque Municipalities (UEMA) is that Euskaldunization and literacy should be free for Basque citizenship, and necessarily in the municipalities of UEMA. In UEMA there is no unified grant system, although UEMA channels the proposal for all municipalities, in many municipalities they continue to use their own criteria: in some cases it is free, in others the city council pays 80% or 70%... We have talked to the UEMA coordinator, Miren Segurola, who says that it would be good if the same criterios.Las aid from the

municipalities of UEMA were applied, yes, but above all, the HABE subsidy system and the UEMA subsidy system. The problems of compatibility of the aid from both entities have worsened in the last steps taken by HABE on the road to gratuitousness. Segurola briefly explains: The students that HABE should help are the municipalities or, if not, the students are the injured. An example: at the end of the course, the City Council accepted the student's help, having completed 80% of the school hours. HABE has subsequently called for grants. As the student has received help, he will not make any request to

HABE.Para Segurola, the main objective is that HABE provide all students with the possibility to learn Basque free of charge. However, understanding that steps are being taken in this direction, it has proposed a fairer response to the current situation. UEMA proposes that HABE accompany students who meet the requirements to receive their support and other municipalities. The calculation was made as follows: According to the data collected in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants, more than half of the students exceed the academic year, so there would be approximately a means and a means of payment. Thus, municipalities would manage all the aid, there would be a one-stop shop, and they would help people who attend and pass the school year. Subsequently, HABE will allocate to the municipalities the amount corresponding to students who have exceeded the level to which the aid is granted.