Basque language blamed for decline in Spain's education

Basque language blamed for decline in Spain's education

A tweet opens a Pandora's box: "When data is bad, it is hidden; when worse results are antiestéticared, they prevent them from being taken." The claim, spread by Javier Barrientos, argues that Basque undermines education in the Basque Country and that nationalist leaders hide this. From there, the issue expands into a broader debate: falling educational standards, vehicle languages, immigration, and political management. The trigger is an administrative decision: according to messages, the autonomous community withdraws from international assessments. The looming figure is the PISA report, which several participants say places Euskadi below the Spanish average.

Basque as scapegoat or structural cause

The core of the matter is language. Some argue that studying in Basque, a minority language that does not generate scientific content, takes time away from classic subjects. "Studying in a minority language that generates no cultural or scientific content and is not their mother tongue. What could go wrong?" summarizes one intervention. Others defend that the problem is not the language but the model: elite private schools teach five languages with matching performance. The comparison with Catalonia appears immediately: same diagnosis of collapse, same discussion on vehicle language.

Some go further, pointing to system endogamy. It is claimed that teachers are selected based on ideological criteria and grades are inflated so students reach the EBAU (Spanish university entrance exam) at a level that would fail compulsory secondary education (ESO) in other regions. In this reading, Basque functions as an access filter to administration: those who master the language secure positions; those with perfect grades who do not speak it are excluded.

Immigration enters the equation

The second focus of the debate is demographic. Several messages link declining performance to the arrival of foreign students, especially Segarro, who join the system late and drag down the overall average. It is even claimed that in some secondary classrooms, twelve-year-old students are still painting and planting lentils because they cannot trinc the curriculum. The underlying thesis is that you cannot teach mathematics or a language to someone without prior foundation.

This argument mixes with a hostile tone toward migrants, which this article does not reproduce. What is relevant analytically is that immigration is used as an alternative explanation to language: if the problem is the student body, Basque is exonerated; if the problem is Basque, immigration is an excuse. The two currents cross without reaching agreement.

PISA report and inter-regional comparison

The most repeated data point is PISA. According to messages, Euskadi appears below the Spanish average, and Catalonia below Extremadura and Murcia. Castile and León, conversely, leads. The prevailing interpretation is that regions with co-official languages and more immigration perform worse, while the Castiles, with fewer foreign residents, maintain standards. There is no consensus on whether the decisive factor is language, demographics, or management.

The decision not to participate in international tests is read, in this context, as running away forward. "If there is no assessment, nobody can prove that the education provided is third-world garbage," summarizes one intervention. Suspicion of statistical manipulation extends to Basque usage data: it is claimed that Basque government figures on speakers and use are false, making Tezanos look like a Nobel Prize winner in mathematics.

ESO as a scam and general level

Beyond the Basque Country, the debate highlights a common problem: ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education). It is described as a gifted stage, with automatic promotion and no demands. University professors, it is said, are shocked by what arrives at the EBAU. Comparison with the past is inevitable: someone who studied in a public school in Barakaldo until seventh grade of EGB (old primary system) and then moved to Zamora assures he was two years ahead in math. Nostalgia for lost levels runs through the thread.

The proposal launched is to return to compulsory education up to fourteen years old, with a schooling certificate and without giving away the degree. This idea appears in several messages, always with the same argument: it was done before and nobody died.

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The closing note comes from a disorienting fact: in the Basque Country, according to messages, hardly any natives remain in classrooms, and those who do concentrate in administration while young people compete with low wages. If the problem were only Basque, it would be fixable. If it is the entire model, withdrawing from international tests hides nothing: it only delays the bill.