The leader of the Tory party in the Senedd stated that the Welsh government must "quickly step in" regarding a local council's proposals to decrease the use of English in their educational institutions.
Under Cyngor Gwynedd's proposals, At minimum, 70% of the coursework would be conducted in Welsh. , where English-language sections conclude at the secondary school level.
Generally, there was backing for the proposals during a scrutiny meeting held on Thursday. However, Conservative member Darren Millar deemed it “inherently incorrect” and went so far as to propose intervention from the UK government.
The Welsh government stated that local councils bear the responsibility for school planning.
Writing on the Conservative Home On the website, Millar contended that the proposition is "detrimental not just to education but also unjust towards teachers and fractious for communities."
He similarly condemned it by referring to it as part of an overarching pattern of insular policies in Gwynedd.
Millar appealed to Education Secretary Lynne Neagle to take immediate action and cautioned, "Should the Welsh government neglect to safeguard citizens' rights, the UK government will have to intervene."
On Thursday’s meeting, several Gwynedd council members thought that the proposed plan was not ambitious enough, whereas others were worried about the insufficient tracking of advancements.
Nevertheless, there was widespread backing for the objective of increasing Welsh-language education.
In reaction to Millar's objection, Councillor Dewi Jones, who holds the position of education portfolio holder in Gwynedd, described his viewpoint as both "disappointing" and "extremely unfortunate."
Mr. Jones stated that he "foolishly believed" Millar was an outlier, and that Wales had progressed to a stage where the Welsh language was widely embraced and everybody backed its development for future generations of children and youth.
He stated: "I believed that the era of utilizing Welsh as a tool for political gains had ended."
However, it is quite disheartening to hear such remarks, and I feel compelled to express this openly.
In his column, Millar cautioned that Gwynedd council’s strategy might "alienate people from the Welsh language," thereby "weakening its foundation." aim of reaching one million Welsh speakers which he mentioned he still entirely backs.
He stated, "Now is the moment for the Welsh government to step in and advocate for the English-speaking minority in Gwynedd, much like they ought to safeguard the Welsh-speaking minority in various other regions of Wales."
This isn't about choosing sides in any linguistic conflict.
It’s about safeguarding equity, choice, and the idea that bilingualism should benefit communities rather than serve as a means of division or exclusion.
As per Gwynedd council, the updated policy aims to "eradicate bilingual education and dual-language instruction" and explicitly declares that Welsh will be the primary language for teachings.
The Welsh language organization Cymdeithas yr Iaith, which backed the proposals, recommended that other councils in western Wales explore implementing comparable strategies.
Responding to worries over hiring Welsh-speaking employees, Councillor Jones stated: "At what point will we make this change? Increasing Welsh-language education is essential as it will lead to a greater number of qualified teachers down the line—it’s clear-cut."
A representative from the Welsh government said that the responsibility for school planning lies with local authorities.
The organization stated that it is ultimately the responsibility of the local authority to select the best approach for each school. This decision should be based on an evaluation of their Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and discussions with the school community.
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