Make all schools in Wales Welsh-medium by 2050, say campaigners
WELSH language campaigners are calling on the Welsh Government to set a statutory target of 2050 for all schools in Wales to be Welshmedium.
That year is the Welsh Government’s target gate for having one million Welsh speakers.
Launching its own Welsh Language Act at the National Eisteddfod in Ceredigion, Cymdeithas yr Iaith will call on the government to set the middle of the century as the date by which Welsh is the language of the education system.
The Welsh Government is preparing to publish consultation in the autumn as part of its commitment to introduce legislation in the next four years.
Keith Bush, Fellow in Welsh Law at the Welsh Governance Centre, has drawn up the Act for Cymdeithas, which the group said is based on the language movement’s vision and policies. It sets a goal of establishing a monolingual Welsh education system for all by 2050.
Among the other measures will be scrapping the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and replacing it with a National Welsh Language Education Framework, and establishing the principle of one
Welsh Language Education Framework in statute, to replace Welsh second language qualifications which Cymdeithas says “lets so many of our young people down”.
Catrin Dafydd from the
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Education Group said: “The Welsh Government and the Minister for Education, Jeremy Miles, have a once in a generation opportunity. Welshmedium education is within reach for everyone for the first time ever.
“We are calling for a statute to state that Welsh will be the language of education in Wales, with every school on a path to provide Welsh-medium education for all by 2050.
“At the Eisteddfod, we will be launching our own Act and starting to consult on it.
“We want to create a broad conversation at a grass-roots level about a piece of vital legislation that will affect the economic and cultural opportunities of thousands of children for the rest of their lives.”
As part of its programme for government 2021-2026, the Welsh Government said it would legislate to strengthen and increase Welsh language provision. There is no timetable yet for White Paper consultation on this.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The success of Cymraeg 2050 demands far-reaching changes and actions, and we’re committed to helping guide our schools and workforce along the path towards more Welsh language provision.
“Cymraeg is at the heart of our new curriculum, which sets out clear Welsh language development progression steps for learners, including English-medium schools.
“We also need a workforce with the right skills, which means attracting more Welsh-speakers to the profession and investing in the Welsh language skills of our existing workforce.
“To address this, we‘ve recently published our 10-year plan to increase the number of Welshspeaking teachers, with £9m to support and implement the plan this year. We are also providing free access to Welsh lessons for all teaching staff from September.”