July 2004

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CATALAN WILL BE AGAIN AN OBLIGATORY SUBJECT IN SECONDARY SPANISH SCHOOLS OF ANDORRA

July 2004 – Catalan will be an obligatory subject in the Spanish secondary schools of Andorra. This was the final outcome of the meeting between the Minister on Education, Culture and Sports of Andorra, Xavier Montané, the Andorran Secretary of State on Education Josep Anton Bardina and the Spanish Minister of Education and Science, María Jesús Sansegundo. During the meeting, the representatives of both governments also agreed on the possibility of opening new educational Spanish centres depending on demand. In accordance with the conclusions of the meeting, Catalan will be taught at secondary-school level four hours per week and the existent agreement signed on December 2003 will therefore have to be revised and amended. The agreement is just pending of ratification by the Spanish and Andorran parliaments and will be applicable from the next academic year 2004-2005. However, before the final approval, a mixed commission will be constituted in order to agree on the final wording. The modification consists of an increase of teaching hours of the subject ‘Andorran training’, which actually is divided in two main areas: Catalan language and Andorran history, as the agreement signed in December 2003 established only three hours of Catalan language teaching and, according to sources of the Andorran government, it was not compulsory at secondary-school level. By contrast, the former agreement signed in 1993 did not establish a specific number of teaching hours of Andorran training. The newly signed agreement is seen by the Andorran government as ‘positive’ and it only brings some adjustments.