The STEI's Catalan Shock Plan: More teacher training, an emphasis on extracurricular activities, and greater government involvement.

PalmPoint 20 of the Education Framework Agreement signed between the unions and the Ministry of Education provides for the implementation of an emergency plan to promote Catalan language instruction, which has not yet been implemented. The measure is understood in a context where the level and use of Catalan by students, as reported by ARA Baleares on several occasions, continues to decline. As for second-year compulsory secondary education students, Catalan proficiency has dropped from 73.6% in the 2008-2009 academic year, to 60.6% in the 2013-2014 academic year, to 63.8% in the 2016-2017 academic year, and finally to 49% in the second year. In the fourth year of primary education, the trend is also downward: it has dropped from 59.2% in the 2012-2013 academic year to 49% in the 2023-2024 academic year.

"These differences are statistically significant and require urgent measures," explains the proposed shock plan drawn up by the STEI (Spanish Institute of Statistics and Census) and presented this Tuesday at an event at the Estudi General Lul·lià, attended by social, political, and cultural representatives. The speakers included Joana Maria Mas, president of the Association of Early Childhood and Primary School Principals; Ismael Pelegrí, Catalan teacher at the Joan Ramis i Ramis Secondary School in Maó; Jaume Oliver, teacher at the Pío XII School; and Miquel Gelabert, secretary general of the STEI. The STEI proposal will be submitted to the Ministry of Education.

Among other measures (there are 50), the proposal calls for the splitting of the Catalan subject to encourage oral expression in smaller groups and for sociolinguistic training to be provided to all teaching professionals. One of the main problems in ensuring compliance with language regulations is that, according to sources consulted, the inspection body does not always have the means to determine in which language classes are actually taught.

To try to resolve this situation, the STEI proposes that the education inspectorate prepare an annual report on the status of Catalan in schools on the islands; "and more specifically, on the adequacy of the School Language Project (PLC) to current regulations, as well as its implementation." This report must be sent to the Monitoring Committee for this plan. "It is worth remembering that one of the Inspection Department's priority actions for the 2024-2025 academic year was the "supervision, control, advice, and monitoring of the implementation of the School Language Project (PLC)," the union explains.

The document includes measures focused on various areas, which should be based on a study of the current situation of Catalan as a vehicular language and language of use in all school activities and an assessment of student language proficiency. Based on this, the Administration is required to develop, within one year, a plan designed to promote Catalan in schools and ensure compliance with current regulations (Minimum Decree, Language Project, and Language Normalization Law).

Focus on extracurricular activities

Another focus of the STEI plan is the educational community. Therefore, it recommends offering Catalan and sociocultural awareness classes to families and non-teaching staff. The Achilles' heel, denounced by teachers, is that the work carried out in schools to promote the language is diluted in the afternoons, when children participate in extracurricular activities. STEI proposes establishing a Catalan language requirement for those involved in extracurricular activities or lunchrooms at schools. It also proposes the creation of a committee for relations with municipal entities to jointly carry out activities to disseminate and promote the language.

The shortage of teachers has opened the door for people without the requisite knowledge to enter the profession, both on the lists of temporary workers and in civil service positions. In the latter case, the Education Ministry has limited this, for the time being, to positions that are very difficult to fill, and teachers will have a period of time to prove their level once they have obtained the position.

To try to combat the shortage of linguistically qualified teachers, the STEI (Spanish Institute of Education) proposes introducing an additional period for submitting the Catalan language requirement before the start of the selection tests. In the case of temporary workers, they are calling for prioritizing knowledge of the Catalan language in any temporary employment process and for free and mandatory access to training during working hours for those applying for a temporary position without proving their level.

In his closing speech, the Secretary General of the Catalan Institute of Statistics and Census (STEI), Miquel Gelabert, argued that current policies "are favoring linguistic substitution instead of normalization." Therefore, he proposed that "we need to dust off the Linguistic Normalization Law" and treat it "seriously." He also offered a reflection: "If I, as a Catalan speaker, have a right, does that mean that someone has a duty? I think the linguistic issue is not only a question of rights but also of institutional and individual duties," said Miquel Gelabert. And, after the reflection, came the plea: "We must engage in linguistic activism. Only the use of the Catalan language will guarantee its survival. And this is in our hands. Language is more than a tool of communication; it is an essential part of our identity."