Barcelona universities face “Hispanicization”.
The Spanish government appears to be intent on countering nationalism and separatism in Catalonia. Education Minister José Ignatio Wert recently announced plans to “Hispanize” Catalan children.
According to Wert, Barcelona schools and universities do not provide information to pupils and students that the Catalan autonomy has always been part of Spain. The Minister of Education promised to take responsibility for the region’s residents who would like their children to be educated in Castilian rather than Catalan. Wert stressed that this is the legal right of all Spanish residents.
The possibility of concluding agreements with some private educational institutions in the region to allow them to teach in Castilian is currently being considered. It is not yet clear how this will affect the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
The Spanish education minister has already earned himself a nationalist reputation for such proposals. Socialist MP Francesc Vallesc accused the minister of dividing the country’s population into Spaniards and Catalans. Vallesc believes that such actions by the minister will lead to a repeat of the oppressive atmosphere that reigned in Spain during the harsh post-war years.
José Ignatio Werth, a Spanish politician, visited the Basque Country in late September. Although politicians there have expressed thoughts of secession from Spain, separatist sentiment in the region has weakened during the crisis. This shows that nationalists do not believe that the Basque Country can survive without financial support from Spain. Thus, the main motive of the Catalan separatists is economic, not national.
During his visit to the Basque Country, José Ignatio Werth visited several educational institutions. In Vitoria-Gasteiz, the regional capital, the minister commented on the education reform that he later feared discussing in his speech at the University of Barcelona.
Education is a very important topic, especially given the teachers’ and educators’ strikes that took place in Spain at the beginning of the school year. José Ignatio Werth believes that applicants from different regions should have the same opportunities to enter the prestigious universities of Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga. Therefore, in the future, there are plans to standardize school programs in all regions and develop new teaching aids.
The Basque Country president also backed the idea of “open and inclusive” school education in Spain, which would allow residents of any province to enroll in prestigious universities such as the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
