MoD Spends Large Sums on Private Education to Bypass Welsh Language Education
The MoD spends around one million pounds annually to place children to private schools in north Wales because "public schools provide various classes in the Welsh tongue".
It paid £1,019,000 in educational stipend in the northern region for 83 children of service personnel in the current academic year, and £942,000 for 79 children in the previous year under a longstanding practice.
A spokesperson said "military families' children can face frequent moves" and the allowance "aims to reduce interruption to their education".
The Welsh party described it as a "total misuse of funds" and "an insult to our tongue" while the Tory party argued parents should be able to select the medium in which their children are educated.
The figures were obtained following a inquiry under the public records law.
The online portal of RAF Valley on the island informs its workforce, "if you live and serve in northern Wales, where public schools teach various classes in the Welsh language, you can opt to send your kids to an English-medium independent school".
"Provided you are accompanied by your family at your duty station, you can utilize this benefit to pay for the cost of school charges, field study trips/residential educational courses and daily transport."
An MoD spokesperson explained, "the purpose of Day School Allowance in North Wales (DSA-NW) is to support military households stationed to the area, where the Welsh tongue is the main language of local state education".
"Since relocation is a part of service life, service children can face regular transfers and the DSA-NW seeks to lessen disruption to their education."
"The ministry supports the sacrifices service personnel, and their relatives make, and from the stipend assists with the expenses of independent day schooling given in English."
'Where teaching is bilingual or non-English'
The allowance includes school costs up to a limit of £22,755 annually, £7,585 each semester, and is available to people living in the regions of the county, the area, the locality, the island or Flintshire and working in these specific locations:
- The military base, Anglesey
- Joint Services Mountain Training Centre, Anglesey
- Joint Services Mountain Training Wing, the town
- Wales University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), Bangor detachment, Caernarfon
The eligible independent institutions are Treffos school, the village, Anglesey; Rydal Penrhos preparatory institution in Colwyn Bay; St Gerard's school, Bangor and St David's College, the town.
The applicable military policy document confirms that "disbursement of the allowance is limited to those regions where instruction in the state sector is on a dual-language or non-English basis".
People serving in other locations in the three branches of the armed forces - the ground forces, the naval service and the air service - can apply for a continuity of education allowance which helps with residential and/or school charges up to a cap, with a required family share of 10% for each qualifying student.
Welsh Conservative assembly representative Natasha Asghar commented "members of the British armed forces move around the country and the globe, and the ministry has always sought to ensure that their kids have access to consistency in education".
"While we strongly endorse Welsh-language teaching across Wales, it's crucial to recognize there are dual recognized tongues in our country, the English tongue and the Welsh language, and municipal authorities and education authorities should provide for each."
"Families should always have the choice to decide the medium in which their children are taught."
Plaid Cymru's education spokesperson Cefin Campbell MS said "not just is this a complete waste of funding, it is an insult to our tongue".
"It's hard to imagine any valid reason to be spending such money annually, on blocking youth living in the country from having the opportunity to learn the Welsh language."
"Dual-language ability enhances experience and aids the growth of young people, but the UK government is clearly unaware to this."
"These funds is a clear illustration of the attitude of the UK political groups regarding the nation and the native tongue - namely ignorance and insults."
