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The New Education Act of Catalonia. Consolidation of the Catalan Linguistic Model Mercator Linguistic Rights and Legislation – CIEMEN Catalonia, since the transition to democracy and the establishment of the autonomous model, has increased its fields of action year after year, progressively developing the competences set forth in the Constitution and the Statutes of Autonomy. This development of the action of the Catalan Institutions has not been always easy and in more than one occasion the Constitutional Court had to resolve competential conflicts where the limits of certain competences were not clear. In 2006 a new Statute of Autonomy was approved, an Statute that makes knowledge of Catalan language compulsory for every citizen of Catalonia, alongside Spanish (art. 6.2), and recognizes “exclusive powers” to the Generalitat on some areas of university and non-university education (art. 131 and 172). Is in the framework of this Statute that the new Education Act of Catalonia (LEC) has been approved in the Catalan Parliament. Currently the Constitutional Court is studying the constitutionality of the Statute of Autonomy of 2006, the juridical base of the LEC. Anyway, since the Statute 2006 is into force, it is being applied. The Education Act of Catalonia is a a long desired project of the Government of Catalonia to have a disctintive Catalan model of Education. It has been a complex law since the beginning. Its origin can be placed in the National Pact for Education, signed on March 2006 between the government of Catalonia and representatives of the educational community of Catalonia. Its text, presented to the Parliament on August 2008 in a preliminary draft bill, has been rewritten and amended. There have been many points of disagreement and the debate on the issue of education in Catalonia has been wide. Language has not been a minor part in it. The model with Catalan as the vehicular language has been the option more widely supported, and the Education Act shows it very clearly. Title II of the Education Act of Catalonia on the linguistic regime of the education system of Catalonia is dedicated to the treatment of languages in education and formalizes and consolidates the linguistic immersion methodology and explicitly forbids separation of pupils because of their usual language. But this consolidation is not safe yet, it depends on the ruling of the Constitutional Court on the Statute of Autonomy and the effects it may cause on the competence of Catalan Institutions to establish the model of education. Main points of the LEC • Full command of Catalan and Spanish to be assured for pupils. • Catalan used as vehicular learning language (also books, other educational materials), except in Spanish and foreign languages subjects. • Teachers must prove knowledge of Catalan and Spanish. They must use Catalan at classroom and outside. • Linguistic immersion enhanced. • Catalan is the official language of the Education Authority. • External projection of schools, also to be held in Catalan. • Schools to promote Catalan culture outside Catalonia. • The same principles apply to Aranese in Aran Valley. The new act enhances and protects the well-established Catalan model of education, shielding it from legislation of the Spanish State that could harm it. It provides the model with the higher legal status which is possible within the present legal framework of the Spanish State. As a general outcome, the debate of the enactment of this law has showed the wide consensus existing among the Educative Community of Catalonia on the language issue. The only ones that have opposed have been two Spanish nationalist parties, which do not reach even 15% of the MPs. Catalonia keeps increasing the fields on which it has legislative power, even when a political party, the Popular Party, has lodged an appeal of unconstitutionality against the LEC to the Constitutional Court. It is a matter of political will. Mercator Linguistic Rights and Legislation – CIEMEN Catalonia, since the transition to democracy and the establishment of the autonomous model, has increased its fields of action year after year, progressively developing the competences set forth in the Constitution and the Statutes of Autonomy. This development of the action of the Catalan Institutions has not been always easy and in more than one occasion the Constitutional Court had to resolve competential conflicts where the limits of certain competences were not clear. In 2006 a new Statute of Autonomy was approved, an Statute that makes knowledge of Catalan language compulsory for every citizen of Catalonia, alongside Spanish (art. 6.2), and recognizes “exclusive powers” to the Generalitat on some areas of university and non-university education (art. 131 and 172). Is in the framework of this Statute that the new Education Act of Catalonia (LEC) has been approved in the Catalan Parliament. Currently the Constitutional Court is studying the constitutionality of the Statute of Autonomy of 2006, the juridical base of the LEC. Anyway, since the Statute 2006 is into force, it is being applied. The Education Act of Catalonia is a a long desired project of the Government of Catalonia to have a disctintive Catalan model of Education. It has been a complex law since the beginning. Its origin can be placed in the National Pact for Education, signed on March 2006 between the government of Catalonia and representatives of the educational community of Catalonia. Its text, presented to the Parliament on August 2008 in a preliminary draft bill, has been rewritten and amended. There have been many points of disagreement and the debate on the issue of education in Catalonia has been wide. Language has not been a minor part in it. The model with Catalan as the vehicular language has been the option more widely supported, and the Education Act shows it very clearly. Title II of the Education Act of Catalonia on the linguistic regime of the education system of Catalonia is dedicated to the treatment of languages in education and formalizes and consolidates the linguistic immersion methodology and explicitly forbids separation of pupils because of their usual language. But this consolidation is not safe yet, it depends on the ruling of the Constitutional Court on the Statute of Autonomy and the effects it may cause on the competence of Catalan Institutions to establish the model of education. Main points of the LEC • Full command of Catalan and Spanish to be assured for pupils. • Catalan used as vehicular learning language (also books, other educational materials), except in Spanish and foreign languages subjects. • Teachers must prove knowledge of Catalan and Spanish. They must use Catalan at classroom and outside. • Linguistic immersion enhanced. • Catalan is the official language of the Education Authority. • External projection of schools, also to be held in Catalan. • Schools to promote Catalan culture outside Catalonia. • The same principles apply to Aranese in Aran Valley. The new act enhances and protects the well-established Catalan model of education, shielding it from legislation of the Spanish State that could harm it. It provides the model with the higher legal status which is possible within the present legal framework of the Spanish State. As a general outcome, the debate of the enactment of this law has showed the wide consensus existing among the Educative Community of Catalonia on the language issue. The only ones that have opposed have been two Spanish nationalist parties, which do not reach even 15% of the MPs. Catalonia keeps increasing the fields on which it has legislative power, even when a political party, the Popular Party, has lodged an appeal of unconstitutionality against the LEC to the Constitutional Court. It is a matter of political will. |
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