‘Radical programme’ needed to achieve target of 50% of children in Welsh-medium education according to campaigners

Stephen Price

Ahead of a rally to press the Welsh Government to take immediate action in support of the Welsh language and Wales’ communities, Welsh language campaigners have said that a ‘radical programme’ is needed in order to achieve the target of reaching 50% of children in Welsh-medium education by 2050.

Following the first ministerial statement by the new Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Welsh Language, Anna Brychan MS, to Members of the Senedd yesterday (16 June) Owain Meirion, National Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: “We look forward to working closely with the Welsh Government to achieve the goal of 50% of children receiving Welsh-medium education by 2050.

“We need to see targets being met, investment in the workforce, and clear leadership.

“Cymdeithas yr Iaith will not be satisfied until every child receives Welsh-medium education, but at the very least, in the short term, we must ensure that the target of reaching 50% is achieved rather than missed.

“Welsh-medium education at community level could help ensure that the graphs start moving in the right direction for the first time in decades, with a radical programme in support of the Welsh language and the people of Wales.”

Anna Brychan MS published her statement of priorities for the education brief yesterday, and will publish her statement of priorities for the Welsh language on 7 July.

Owain Meirion added: “We look forward to a dedicated and far-reaching announcement from the Minister on the Welsh language on 7 July.

“The new Minister must usher in a radical new chapter that takes the people of Wales’ right to the Welsh language seriously and delivers targets that make a real day-to-day difference to people in their communities.

“This includes completing the work of introducing rights under the Welsh Language Measure and rapidly extending them to the rest of the private sector while ensuring they are enforced effectively, and implementing all the recommendations of the two expert commissions on Welsh-speaking communities.

“We will be holding the ‘Troi’r Llanw dros y Gymraeg’ (‘Turning the Tide for the Welsh Language’) rally in Porthmadog on the preceding Saturday to reinforce our policy demands and to press the Government to take immediate action in support of the Welsh language and our communities.”

The ‘Troi’r Llanw dros y Gymraeg’ rally will be held at Y Traeth Stadium, Porthmadog, on 4 July at 12 noon.

The Welsh Government said: “The Welsh language belongs to us all. We want to ensure a fair opportunity for every child in Wales to learn and enjoy the Welsh language by implementing the full potential of the Welsh Language and Education Act.

“We will lay the foundations to ensure that 50% of our children receive Welsh-medium education by 2050 – the most ambitious target by any Government in terms of the growth of the Welsh language.

“The Cabinet Minister for Education and Welsh Language will be making a statement on the Welsh language before the summer, setting out her priorities in full.”