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Tamazight from Melilla will have allocation in Spain’s Budget

 
Resources will be assigned to its promotion and dissemination, but not to language learning in schools · The budget amendment has been proposed by ERC, and has been approved with the support of IU-ICV and PSOE · Minister for Education says the money will fund training for teachers to reduce school failure.

An amendment to Spain's General Budget promoted by ERC (Catalan Republican Left), together with IU-ICV (United Left-Catalan eco-socialists), has allocated 50,000 € for the promotion and dissemination of Tamazight language in Melilla for the first time ever. Melilla is a Spanish autonomous city in Northern Africa where more than 50% of the people speak Tamazight (berber language). ERC's MP Joan Tardà defended the amendment and said that the inclusion of Tamazight in the Budget "was a long-awaited demand". ERC had presented up to 10 amendments to that end from 2004 on, and only now have received enough parliamentary support.

According to El Faro, the amendment was to assign 1 million € to the allocation, but a consensus had to be reached with PSOE (Spanish Labour) and as a consequence the amount was shrunk considerably. Tardà has admitted that the amount is very low, but stressed the symbolic aspect of the event because it acknowledges that the language is spoken by Spanish citizens and that "means to put Tamazight on equal footing with Catalan, Basque and Galician".

The amendment, which has been added to the education section of the Budget, only refers to the "promotion" of the Tamazight. Spanish Minister for Education Ángel Gabilondo has pointed out that the allocation does not provide for the inclusion of the African language into the education system and as a result citizens of Melilla will not be granted the right to study Tamazight. Gabilondo said the resources will fund teacher training in the language so that school failure can be dealt with, a phenomenon which is rampant within Melilla's Amazigh population.

Photo: general view of Melilla (Paco Solís).

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