The academic world has shown its frontal opposition to the educational freedom law promoted by the PP and Vox in Les Corts Valencianes. The governing council of the University of Valencia (UV) has approved a very harsh report in which it considers that the legislative proposal of the partners of the Valencian government is “unnecessary, discriminatory and recessive”.
Along these lines, after highlighting that from the triple sociolinguistic, pedagogical and legal perspective, the proposal constitutes a clear setback for plurilingual education”, the report adds that “the norm in practice corners Valencian speakers, who will not be able to assert their rights. ”.
Some criticisms that add to those already made a few days ago by the Valencian Academy of Language (AVL) – “the normative institution of the Valencian language”, according to the Valencian Statute of Autonomy – which pointed out a few days ago that the proposed law is “in the opposite direction to the normalization of the language of the Valencian Community: instead of promoting Valencian, it favors Spanish.”
Both academic institutions agree in their reports – which by the way the PP and Vox have avoided asking for – that a space for “serene, thoughtful and constructive dialogue” and a “space for reflection and dialogue” should be opened, although for Therefore, the University of Valencia demands that the legislative proposal be withdrawn first.
And the document prepared by different departments and units of the UV warns that, in addition to breaking the consensus of more than 40 years, in “a situation of sociolinguistic emergency”, the bill “could be a coup de grace against the own and historical language of the Valencians and condemn it, in a short period of time, in a residual state of uncertain outcome.”
Despite the warnings, there is no intention on the part of the authors of the text to withdraw their initiative, which was part of an electoral program that was supported at the polls. Yesterday, the PP spokesperson in the Valencian parliament, Miguel Barrachina, defended his party’s commitment to achieving “educational freedom” and allowing parents to choose the base language in teaching their children.
An argument that the report from the University of Valencia questions by indicating that “freedom of linguistic choice is only effective for Spanish speakers, while the choice of Valencian is torpedoed by a series of obstacles and conditions that do not apply to Spanish.” ”.
However, the parliamentary process continues and until next Monday, May 20, amendments can be presented to reformulate the text. The PP has already said that it will make modifications but has not clarified whether it is about this law (it seems unlikely since it was the party that has prepared it) or about any of the others that are also being processed, such as the controversial concord law.
Vox has also indicated that after listening to civil society it will present some modification, although its intention seems more directed to assume some of the demands of the Hablamos Español platform, which the PP did not want to call in the appearances of experts to assess the educational standard. .
In these appearances, voices were heard in favor of the text promoted by popular members and Vox deputies, such as those of two associations of parents of students (Concapa and Covapa) or the president of the College of Pedagogues. Despite this, in this forum, again the majority of university representatives were against the norm. As an example, the intervention of the honorary professor in language teaching at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) Joaquim Dolz, who described the text as “irresponsibly discriminatory” for Valencian.