Only 25% of teachers have C2 level of Catalan language
Catalan government wants to establish the level of language as a requirement for new teachers
Only 25% of the teaching staff in Catalan schools has an accredited C2 level of Catalan, the highest certificate of the language that can be obtained.
According to data collected by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), 29,2% (13,209 out of 45.228) of the secondary school teachers and 21% (around 10,000 of the 48,000) of primary school teachers have a certificate for that level of the Catalan language.
In July 2023, the Catalan education minister presented a new decree to emphasize Catalan as the working language in schools.
That decree established a C2 level of Catalan as a requirement to be a teacher in public schools from the 2025-2026 school year.
However, it was provisionally suspended by Catalonia's High Court (TSJC).
The implementation of the decree would increase the number of teachers with a C2 Catalan level, which is a quarter of the teachers in compulsory education.
13 counties in Catalonia have a lower percentage of teachers with C2 than the Catalan average, these counties are the most populated ones with 65% of Catalonia's teaching staff.
The northern-west county of Val d'Aran is the region with the lowest percentage of teachers with a C2 level (18,8%), followed by the coastal county of El Maresme (19%), and Vallès Oriental and Baix Llobregat with a 20,1% average of teachers who have a C2 level in Catalan.
Only the northern county of El Lluçanès has 100% of its teachers with a C2 level. However, it is a small county with a total of only 22 teachers in primary education.
Apart from that, no other region of Catalonia has more than 50% of its teachers with the highest Catalan level. Pla de l'Urgell is close, with 49% of teachers, and the regions of Segrià, les Garrigues, Alt Urgell, Segarra, Pallars Jussà, and Noguera are around 40%, all located in western Catalonia.