CUP accuses PP and Vox of wanting to 'end' Catalan in Valencia

Valencia's new education minister, José Antonio Rovira of the conservative People's Party who are governing in coalition with the far-right Vox, foresees that Catalan will cease to be the working language in schools in the eight Spanish-speaking areas of the Valencian region. 

This has led to strong criticisms from the pro-independence far-left CUP, who accused the right-wing bloc of wanting to "end" the Catalan language in education centers in the region. 

On Thursday, Rovira announced that he will make "some modifications" to the multilingualism model in schools in Valencia. In subsequent statements, Rovira highlighted the "incongruence" that exists in these eight counties, where one law provides for the exemption from studying Valencian, while another provides for a quota of 25% of teaching in this language.

Rovira has indicated that it is necessary to make a "global approach" to the reform of the Plurilingualism Act, and indicated that the free choice of parents will be "much above impositions." 

Laure Vega, a candidate for CUP in the Barcelona constituency, said that learning the language brings society together and highlighted the example of the Catalan capital, which was a focal point for the language immersion system in schools. 

The language immersion system is the education model that sees core subjects taught through Catalan to ensure the language's survival, as the majority of media and social use is already through Spanish. 

The Use and Education Law, approved in 1983, establishes the exemption from taking the subject of Valencian in eight specific counties: Alt Palància, Plana d'Utiel, Racó d'Ademús, Foia de Bunyol, Vall de Cofrents, les Serrans, Canal de Navarrés and Baix Segura.

At the same time, the Law on Plurilingualism foresees that 25% of classes are given in Spanish, 25% in Valencian, 15-25% in English, while schools throughout Valencia can decide which language is taught for the remainder of the time.

Regarding potential changes to the curriculum, Vega said that it is not surprising that the PP and Vox want Catalan to stop being used and that some councils have withdrawn magazines in Catalan or banned plays. "The right shows that it perfectly understands the importance of culture, which the left had neglected," she argued. 

Another CUP member, Albert Botran, added during the campaign event that ahead of Sunday's election it is necessary to remember that "fascism must be faced."