SPENDING ON WELSH FOR ADULTS NEEDS TO DOUBLE
Dyfodol i’r Iaith welcomes the new arrangements for teaching Welsh to Adults. The Welsh Government says the new central arrangements will start in September 2015. .
“Establishing a central system was one of the recommendations made by Dyfodol i’r Iaith to the group reviewing Welsh for Adults” said Heini Gruffudd, Chair of Dyfodol i’r Iaith. “By creating a National Organisation for Welsh for Adults the field can be led by experts”
But Dyfodol i’r Iaith is concerned that the new organisation will not have enough money to develop the field as it should.
“It is a great pity that as the government is re-organising it is also cutting the funding available for Welsh for Adults by 8%. Spending in this area is a third of what it is in the Basque country, which is in a similar situation to ours. If we are serious about reviving the Welsh language across Wales we need to double the funding, not cut the funding” said Heini Gruffudd.
“It is only by sufficient spending that the Welsh language can be taught to adults thoroughly with enough teaching hours ac in plenty of local venues.”
“We welcome the emphasis on Welsh in families but we need an adequate system to develop an army of teachers in our schools and to teach the massive amount of people dealing with the public.”
In October 2012 Dyfodol presented nine recommendations including doubling the amount spent on Welsh for Adults.
Other recommendations included:
- Offering teaching programmes of up to 1200 hours
- Establishing a network of Welsh Centres
- A programme of releasing workers from their jobs.
The Welsh language must be completely central in planning – that was the clear message that emerged in the Annual General Meeting of Dyfodol i’r Iaith (A Future for the Language) in Aberystwyth on 23rd November.