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EDUCATION

CONFIRMED: 25 percent of school lessons in Catalonia must be taught in Spanish

At least 25 percent of classes will have to be taught in Spanish in schools in Catalonia, following the latest ruling by the region's Supreme Court which quashes regional government appeals to stick to the full-Catalan language model.

Published: 24 November 2021 15:38 CET
Schools in Catalonia must have 25% of classes in Spanish
Supreme Court rules that 25 percent of classes in Catalonia must be taught in Spanish. Photo: Josep LAGO / AFP

The divisive matter of Catalan vs Spanish for official matters in Catalonia is making headlines again, this time with regard to education.

Catalonia’s Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal from the Catalan Generalitat against an earlier ruling that required a quarter of lessons to be taught in castellano (Spanish) in schools in the northeastern region.

This means that the decision by the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) becomes final and puts an end to the linguistic immersion model that all classes apart from Spanish class and other languages such as English, be taught in Catalan.

The Minister of Education of the Catalan Generalitat government Josep González-Cambray appeared on Tuesday afternoon together with the Minister of Culture Natalia Garriga to report on the court’s decision, which he has defined as a “new frontal attack by the judges on the educational system in Catalonia”.

González-Cambray also sent a message to Catalan schools, assuring them that despite the new situation, there will be “no change” in the current system. “The centres must continue working as before and do not have to make any changes,” he said.

The minister has pointed out that the fact that “it is a judge who arbitrarily determines the percentage of hours that are necessary to learn a language is an anomaly and a contempt for education professionals”.

“School in Catalonia will be in Catalan,” he said at the end of his message to the schools.

The first ruling on this issue was back in 2014  

The Catalan model of linguistic immersion has been questioned by the Justice for years and in 2014, the TSJC already established that the Department of Education should ensure a minimum of 25 percent of classes in Spanish.

At that time, the ruling referred to just eight students but stated that this was the rule to be followed when a student requests classes in Spanish.

The 2014 ruling was the first to set this percentage after several courts urged the Government of Catalonia to teach more classes in Spanish, although without specifying the percentage.

Later, in December 2020 the TSJC issued another ruling that obliged the entire Catalan educational system to teach 25 percent of its classes in Spanish, a ruling which the Catalan government appealed and now the Supreme Court has rejected.

How many students requested to be taught in Spanish?

According to the Catalan Minister of Education, there have “only been 80” families who have requested classes in Spanish since 2005 and he has denied that there is a linguistic conflict in Catalan schools.

This is despite the fact that only 14 percent of secondary school students and 35 percent of primary school students speak Catalan in the playground, according to data from the Llengua Platform. 

Even though families may not have formally requested it, in the capital of Barcelona, where 25 percent of the population of Catalonia live, the University of Barcelona, says that 98 percent of those speak Spanish and only around 50-60 percent speak Catalan.

The reaction from the Catalan government and pro-Catalan associations 

The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has described the Supreme Court’s decision as a “very serious attack” and a “lack of respect for teachers”. “Catalan should not be touched be touched in schools. The immersion model that we have is a guarantee of social cohesion and equal opportunities in the country,” he added.

Aragonès assured schools that he will find “all possible ways” to overcome the situation and that he sees it as “fundamental” to increase the use of Catalan in schools further.  

The Òmnium Cultural Catalan association has asked that disobedience not be ruled out to defend linguistic immersion after the Supreme Court’s decision.

The Catalan Civil Society, on the other hand, celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision, which they have defined as “a historic triumph for equal opportunities in the face of a reactionary model.”

The reaction from the Spanish government

The Spanish government believes that the judgment of the TSJC “must be carried out” like all sentences, “because it has been ruled upon”, but it will not expressly request this to happen because it believes that the TSJC itself should request compliance.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministers of Justice and Territorial Policy, Pilar Llop and Isabel Rodríguez said on Wednesday that once the ruling is final, they maintain, it is up to the sentencing court to see it through and not the government.

Around 8 million people are reported to speak Catalan, one of Spain’s six official languages. 

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
Updated: 11 May 2024 08:31 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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