The Celtic League Secretary General has been reviewing the progress made on AGM resolutions adopted at the Brittany meeting in August. He starts with some good news on the Manx language front:
"It has been confirmed that children from Bunscoill Gaelgagh (school) at St John's, Mannin/Isle of Man will receive a proportion of their secondary school education through the medium of the Manx language later this year.
The Celtic League wrote to the Department of Education following a resolution that was passed at the League's 2006 AGM in Landerne, Breizh/Brittany. The correspondence requested that further provision be made by the Isle of Man Department of Education for the pupils of Bunscoill, who are due to make the transfer to secondary school from September of this year, for them to continue their studies through the medium of the Manx language.
In the letter, dated 9th October 2006, the Departments Coordinating Advisor, Paul Craine, told the League that they were "currently finalising the opportunities that will be available for this group of pupils" and that the Department was committed to supporting "the development of Manx medium education using a model appropriate to the Isle of Man."
Following the recent decision by the Education Department, this means that the Bunscoill pupils will now be able to continue a proportion of their schooling for the next three years, in KS3 of their studies, through the medium of the Manx language. Evidence for the decision was drawn from the experience of the teaching of Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, where it was found that for pupils to maintain their fluency in Gaelic they needed further tuition in the language at secondary school level."
This decision now means that this is the third successful resolution of a League motion passed at the Landerne AGM in 2006. The two previous motions involved the release of Breton political prisoner Kristian Geogault, who was released in November 2006 and the repeal of a ruling that made it illegal to fly the Cornish flag of St Piran without a licence, which was overturned earlier this year.
(Report compiled by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot - Celtic League Secretary General)
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
23/05/07
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