More teaching in English than in Catalan: the Valencian teaching staff takes a stand
At the Polytechnic University of Valencia the percentage of vehicular use of Valencian is reduced to 6.28%
ValenciaA meager 6.28% of teaching in Valencian at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) compared to 8.04% in English and 84.79% in Spanish. These are the data made public by the Linguistic Promotion and Normalization Service of the same center and which have been denounced by the Teaching and Research Staff for Valencian (PDIxValencià), a group of professors that has launched a signature collection campaign to demand a reversal of the situation suffered by the native language at the institution.
The teachers complain that the data on teaching in Valencian continue to worsen, even though it has historically been "minority" at the UPV. In this sense, they recall that in 2015 and 2016 the percentage of teaching in Valencian was 7.4%, a figure that rose to 8.8% in 2018. Since that peak, the trend has been downward: it went from 8% in 2021 to 7.9% in 2022, to 7.6% in 2023, to 7.1% in 2024, to 6.9% in 2025, and to the current 6.28%.
Furthermore, the group underlines that this is a theoretical percentage, because according to data from the Linguistic Promotion and Normalization Service, around 55% of the teaching announced in Valencian ends up being taught in Spanish. If this figure is taken into account, this year the proportion actually taught in Catalan would stand at 2.83% of the credits.
In parallel, a reduced demand also contributes to the decline of Valencian. This 2026-2027 academic year, the students who requested teaching in Valencian as their first option was 10%, and as their second 29.06%. From the PDIxValencià group, they say that these figures are this way because the student "already assumes that the UPV is in Spanish". Added to this perception, according to the platform, is an insufficient linguistic promotion policy by the institution. Slightly higher than the demand is the proficiency of the faculty, which would already reach 40%.
0% in some degrees
As is well known, the marginalization of Valencian occurs especially in scientific fields. This is the case of the School of Telecommunications Engineering at the UPV, which this academic year does not offer any undergraduate credits in Valencian. Its historical data also shows a nearly non-existent presence in recent years: 0.3% in 2023 and 0% in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
The situation at the UPV is particularly striking, given that at its neighbor, the University of Valencia (UV), teaching in Valencian reaches 40.67%, a figure that, nevertheless, is below the 50% promised by the UV for the 2026-2027 academic year.
It also contrasts with the data from the Jaume I University of Castellón, which this year is 21.3% in official undergraduate degrees and 13.3% in master's degrees. Regarding the percentages in other territories of the State, university teaching in a co-official language in the Basque Country is 54%, in Catalonia 69%, and in Galicia 30%, according to data provided by the faculty platform.
The representatives of the PDI collective have taken advantage of the dissemination of the figures to present the 300 signatures they have already collected to demand a change in the linguistic policy of the UPV. “The campaign can be described as a resounding success,
Regarding the role played by the UPV, Ximo Arlandis, professor of the department of computer systems and computing and also a promoter of the campaign, denounces that the institution is becoming a "minorizing" agent of Valencian. In this sense, he describes the current situation as "intolerable" and demands that the "linguistic rights of the students and faculty" be respected.
A study will analyze what the real vehicular language is
Responding to the newspaper ARA, the management of the Polytechnic University of Valencia asserts that it "appreciates and takes note of the approaches provided" by PDIxValencià, but clarifies that it considers the debate "requires rigor and an overall perspective." It is for this reason that it has tasked the Linguistic Promotion and Normalization Service of the UPV to study the degree of compliance with the vehicular language foreseen in the offer of each course. Once it is "ensured" that the planning is respected, the academic body shows its willingness to promote an increase in the use of Valencian, but "always in a manner adjusted to the needs of the university community."