BALIZKO APARTHEIDAK

TO BE HONEST: AN UNHEARD VOICE IN EDUCATION: A PARENT WRITES: It’s far from certain whether any move to withdraw State funding from private schools will address the problem of educational inequality, but it seems there is now the political appetite to rattle a system that has enjoyed the best of both worlds for too long. I suspect the move, if it happens, will be a financial manoeuvre rather than an attempt to redistribute privilege in Irish society. If policymakers were genuinely interested in democratising State-funded education they would do well to take a cool look at the Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcoláistí. Irish language schools are getting away with worse levels of educational apartheid than any private schools. These schools may purport to welcome children of all nationalities, classes and intellectual abilities but the language throws up a natural forcefield that deflects students from various constituencies. Living as I do in a middle-class area of south Dublin, I know many parents who have opted to send their children to Gaelscoileanna. Not one of these parents is a Gaelgóir – all complain that they are not equipped to help their children with homework or even to engage in the mildest level of Irish conversation at home. There is no grá for the language here – these parents are choosing these schools because their children will be educated among Irish citizens from well-to-do backgrounds. These are well-informed people with the cop-on to get their child’s name on a list at birth. They have the comfort of knowing that their child will not have to muck in with students whose second language is English, with Travellers or with others who would simply never consider a Gaelscoil for a slew of socioeconomic reasons. This exclusivity is naturally reproduced into second-level Gaelcoláistí, which tend to give first preference to children from the Gaelscoil sector. As for special education, I’m willing to bet that, if anyone cared to review the situation, there are fewer children with special needs in Irish- language schools than in others. Socio- economic profiling would account for this in the large part, but there’s more to it. Why are children with learning disabilities in English- language schools entitled to apply for an exemption from Irish? Because it’s very hard to learn if you have dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Another natural barrier at the gate of the Gaelscoil. It is the right of every citizen to choose the type of education they want for their child. If a parent wants an exclusively Irish education for their child then they should have to pay for it. Like the private schools, I don’t believe the Irish taxpayer should be forced to stump up for schools that can only ever accommodate a very narrow layer of Irish society. Sean Flynn 

Irakurri berri dut artikulu hau IRISHTIMESen weborrian, noizik behin Irlandako berri izatea gustuko dut oso bihotzeko baitut herri hura, eta berehala begitandu egin zait izugarri interesgarria irizpidera ekartzeko asmotan. Nik hasiera batean gaelikoaren irakaskuntzaren kontrako enegarren iritzia zela sumatu dut, ondo asko baitakit, nire hiri maite-gorrotatuan gertatu bezala, Dublinen bertan ere badagoela Irlandako hizkuntza gutxituaren kontrako jende andana, bai gaelikoak irakaskuntzan duen presentzia edo garrantzia gaitzetsi zein hizkuntza behingoz hildakotzat eman nahi dutenen aldetik. Hala ere, artikulua irakurri ahala salaketa gisara hartu diot artikuluari azken urteotan hainbat irlandar gurasok euren seme-alabak gaielscoiletara, hots, gaelikozko ikastoletara edo, eroaten dituztenez gainontzeko eskolak etorkinez mukuru daudelako, ene ustetan oso joera gaiztoa ez baitute gaelikoarekiko inolako begirune edo zaletasunik erakusten, gheto pribilegiatutzat hartzen dituztela baizik. Bizi nintzen hiru urtez Dublinez ozta-ozta eta bada benetan harrigarria azken urteotako irlandar asko eta askoren ustezko eta bat-bateko gaelikozaletasuna, gaelikozalegoa oso txikia eta baita gaitzetsia ere baitzen gehienbat gainontzeko dublindar gehienen artean, izan ere abertzale sutsu edota nekagarriegitzat hartzen baitzituzten, Sinn Feinen aldekoak edo. Horrexegatik txit interesagarria deritzot artikulu honi, gurean ustezko eta bat-bateko euskalzaletasunaren erabilera makurraren aurrean erne egote aldera hain zuzen. 

Bestalde, aitortu beharrean nago artikulua igo nuela batik bat oraintsu Gasteizko ikastola batean -eta auskalo zenbat gehiagotan- antzeko zerbait gertatzen ari zela komentatu zidatelako lagunmin batzuek, bazeudela gurasoak ikastolako batzarretara zihoazenak, baina, behin bertan, eta nahiz eta betiko ohitura lehen euskaraz eta gero erdaraz izan, andereñoak euskaraz hasi orduko haiek kexu azaltzen ziren euskaraz ez zekitelako, ez zegoela eskubiderik, zer dela eta euskaraz egin behar guztiak erdaraz polito konpontzen baldin ziren. Galdetzen zieten ea euskara gogoko ez bazuten zer dela eta euren seme-alabak ikastolara bidaltzen zituzten, eta erantzuna ez dut uste idazteko premia dudanik...

Gauza benetan deitoregarria ikastolak euskaldun egin aurretik guraso euskaltzaleak, gehienak erdaldunak izanda ere Araba bezalako herrialde bati zoritxarrez dagokionez, zituztenontzat. Min egiten dizu halako zerbait entzuteak, batez ere, eta atzerrian bizi zarela zure seme-alabei ikastola batera eroateko paradarik ez duzunean, egunero eurekin euskaraz alperrik egiteari ekinagatik. Baina, pasadizua bada ere garaiotako adierazle nabarmena, gogoeta egitekoa benetan.

Edonola ere, bada ere oso adierazgarria guztiz kontrako jarrera benetan itxurazalea, nolabait erakusten duena muturrak betiere elkarren ondoan daudela, lagunminok kontatu ere baitzidaten bazeudela beste guraso batzuk, euskadun berri-berriak, eta euskalgaiztoz egiten zutenak, den-dena euskaraz izatea eskatzen zietenak irakasleei gurasoen bilkuretan gurasoen erditik gora erdaldun hutsak izanik ere...