Minister accuses Spain of Hispanic sympathies
12 Oct 2012 7:24 AM IST
Spain's education minister said that the government wants to 'hispanicise' school pupils in Catalonia, sparking fury in a powerful region where many are calling for independence.
Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert was broadly criticised for his comments to parliament, made as the debt-ridden northeastern region prepares for snap elections on 25 November.
‘Our interest is to hispanicise the Catalan pupils and that they feel as proud to be Spaniards as they are to be Catalans,’ Wert said on Wednesday, adding that the same words had been spoken by the Catalan education chief.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's right-leaning Popular Party government wants those children ‘to be able to have a balanced existence between the two identities because both enrich them and strengthen them,’ Wert added. ‘And we will carry on along this line.’ The minister was asked whether he believed the Catalan education system was responsible for independence stirrings in the region.
Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert was broadly criticised for his comments to parliament, made as the debt-ridden northeastern region prepares for snap elections on 25 November.
‘Our interest is to hispanicise the Catalan pupils and that they feel as proud to be Spaniards as they are to be Catalans,’ Wert said on Wednesday, adding that the same words had been spoken by the Catalan education chief.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's right-leaning Popular Party government wants those children ‘to be able to have a balanced existence between the two identities because both enrich them and strengthen them,’ Wert added. ‘And we will carry on along this line.’ The minister was asked whether he believed the Catalan education system was responsible for independence stirrings in the region.
Next Story
