How schools are dealing with Catalonia’s push for independence

Catalonia’s push for independence has in recent years become the cornerstone of most political discussions in the country. The issue has dominated not only party politics, but has also permeated almost all spheres of social life, from culture and the arts to business. Schools are no exception.

Anti-independence politicians have long criticized Catalonia’s education system for conveying what they deem as a biased vision of the country’s history and its relationship with the rest of Spain. Not a few have accused teachers of “indoctrinating” children, such as Inés Arrimadas, the leader of Cs, the main opposition party in the Catalan Parliament.

Xavier García Albiol, the leader of Spain’s ruling People’s Party in Catalonia, went as far as to claim that it had been a mistake to let the Catalan government and other Spanish regions manage their own education systems. “A major part of this system has become a powerful tool for indoctrination, and for the manipulation of reality and history,” he said.