Parents' apathy on multilingualism vote in schools

THE first school referendum in history in the Valencia Region was largely ignored by parents.

The Ministry of Education was asking parents for their opinion on the multilingualism programmes and to choose between Castellano and Valencian as the main language for teaching their child at school. With letters issued to parents days before the online vote, data returned said that just between 10-20 per cent of parents returned the form requesting the necessary code to access the website and exercise their right to vote.

The STEPV union called the referendum a “complete failure” with participation in Alicante Province at just 2.7 per cent, Castellon 2.8 per cent and 2.3 per cent in Valencia.

However, the vote was just part of a consultation period by the authorities and was not binding, with others criticising its timing coming at the end of the term.