They denounce that the Valencian government will not create Catalan lines in Spanish-speaking areas despite the demands of families.

ValenciaSuspicions about the real will of the Popular Party to implement the literal meaning of the new education law If the result did not favor some of their positions, they are beginning to take shape. This is at least what can be deduced from the circular sent by the Ministry of Education to educational centers, in which it gives instructions on how the results of the consultation should be applied. language in the classroom which was made a few weeks ago.

In the document, the Generalitat states that in areas where Castilian is predominantly spoken—eight regions in the south and interior of Valencia—classrooms with Valencian as the main language cannot be created, even if families have requested it. On the other hand, in the 23 regions where Catalan is predominantly spoken, there will be the option of choosing between Castilian and Valencian. The circular was distributed by the Valencian Teaching Workers' Union (STEPV), which denounced this as demonstrating that "from the beginning, the law was designed to prevent classes from being taught in Valencian in Castilian-speaking areas."

In response to the STEPV, the Director General of Educational Centers stated that the instructions sent "do not yet include an analysis of the results of the language consultation with families" and that the system will be updated at a later stage. He also added that the regional ministry "has always stated that it will address the wishes expressed by families and that if there is sufficient demand to create more units, both for Valencian and Spanish, they will be created," and that this will be based on Article 8 of the law. This is a very ambiguous section of the law that gives the Generalitat a wide margin to interpret the wishes of families. Specifically, the law It simply states that in Castilian-dominated areas, "when there is sufficient student demand" and "there is not enough supply of school places," the administration will adopt "the appropriate measures to satisfy this demand."

In response to the regional ministry's position, the union has demanded "an urgent solution" and threatened to go to court if the families' wishes are not respected. The union has also demanded "an immediate rectification of this circular that disrespects the freedom of choice of language, which has been so often talked about by the Regional Minister of Education and President Carlos Mazón, defenders of a choice that is in reality a farce, because now they intend to deny our students the right to study in Valencian."

It should be noted that the results of the consultation in the Castilian-dominated regions did yield some surprises. Thus, in Rincón de Ademuz, Canal de Navarro, Hoya de Buñol, and Alto Palancia, the preference for Valencian as the majority language exceeded 30%, reaching 51.97% in Serrania. In contrast, in Vega Baja only 4.75% of families chose Catalan, 7.04% in Plana de Utiel-Requena, 12.8% in Valle de Cofrentes, and 16.83% in Alt Vinalopó.

What has been chosen?

It's worth remembering that in no case have families had the option of choosing models close to language immersion, which experts point to as the most suitable for ensuring true proficiency in a minority language like Valencian. In fact, families have only had to choose the majority language of instruction. However, as with everything in the Valencian Community, there are significant regional differences. In 25 of the 33 Valencian regions, in the pre-school stage, the language chosen (Catalan or Spanish) may occupy a maximum of 65 percent of the teaching time, with a minimum of 25 percent for the other co-official language and 10 percent for English.

In primary, secondary, and high school, English will occupy between 15% and 25%. In these three stages, the difference in language use between Valencian and Spanish must exceed 20%, and no language may be used less than 25%. On the contrary,in the eight regionsWhere Catalan has historically been underrepresented and where the study of Valencian remains voluntary—citing its limited historical presence—in pre-school, Valencian and English will occupy 10% of the time, while in primary, secondary, and high school, Catalan will be optional. In contrast, English will represent between 15% and 25% of the hours.