10.02.2014 - 09:02
Somescola.cat is calling upon the Catalan society to demonstrate today at 6:30pm in the evening in front of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), in order to show their opposition to the court ruling that requires five schools to give 25% of their classes in Spanish. Muriel Casals, president of Òmnium Cultural and one of the group’s spokespeople, said that the demonstration looks to defend the linguistic immersion model that has been in place these past thirty-five years, and which ‘guarantees equal opportunity and social cohesion’. The TSJC is housed in the Palau de la Justícia, on Passeig Lluís Companys in central Barcelona.
Current Catalan legislation defines a linguistic immersion model in which Catalan is the main language of instruction, except in Spanish and other language classes, like English. The model has been lauded by the UNESCO and others, and Catalan students often test higher in Spanish than children in other parts of Spain, in addition to learning Catalan. The system also ensures that students are not divided by language.
The TSJC decision was rejected outright by the Catalan Government, which has already presented an appeal. According to the brief, the TSJC rulings contradict the Spanish Constitution, the Catalan Statute of Autonomy and the Catalan Education Law (LEC). The Government warned that in addition, the ruling will make it necessary to divide school children by language and questioned whether the court had the proper jurisdiction for setting the percentage of Spanish language use in school.
One of the affected schools also publicly declared its opposition to the TSJC’s imposition. In a letter, the Escola Pia of Catalonia noted that its centers are ‘rooted in and dedicated to serving the country’ and declared, ‘We will do everything we can to be loyal to our commitment to making Catalan the language of instruction in our schools’.
Demonstration in favor of the immersion model
Somescola.cat, a group of civic and educational groups, made a call for defending the current system of linguistic immersion, which allows students to finish their studies knowing both Catalan and Spanish. ‘It’s false that Catalan children don’t know Spanish. The data proves it, and there’s no reason to create an artificial conflict,’ said Muriel Casals in a press conference to announce the demonstration.
On the other hand, Somescola spokesperson Josep Maria Cervelló made it clear that it was an anomaly that legal rulings had to decide how Catalan schools should educate children. And on the arbitrary nature of the 25% figure, he asked, ‘Why not 10% or 50%?’. Cervelló suspects that this ruling is a way ‘of smoothing the path for Minister Wert’s LOMCE, to make Catalan a less important language, after Spanish and English.’
Somescola also asked the Generalitat to continue to safeguard the linguistic immersion model, in accordance with current legislation, by rejecting the ruling that seeks to introduce Spanish as a language of instruction in Catalan schools.
