MoD Spends Millions on Private Education to Bypass Welsh Language Education
The MoD spends approximately £1m annually to place students to private schools in northern Wales because "public schools provide various lessons in the Welsh language".
The ministry disbursed £1,019,000 in educational stipend in north Wales for 83 children of service personnel in the current academic year, and £942,000 for 79 children in 2023-2024 under a established practice.
An official representative said "military families' children can face regular relocations" and the allowance "aims to minimize disruption to their schooling".
Plaid Cymru called it a "total misuse of money" and "an insult to our language" while the Conservatives argued families should be able to choose the language in which their kids are taught.
The figures were obtained following a request under the public records law.
The online portal of the military installation on Anglesey informs its workforce, "if you live and serve in north Wales, where state schools provide some or all classes in the Welsh tongue, you can opt to enroll your children to an English-language independent school".
"Provided you are joined by your household at your duty station, you can utilize this allowance to pay for the cost of school charges, field study trips/residential educational courses and daily transport."
An MoD spokesperson explained, "the aim of Day School Allowance in the northern region (the allowance) is to support service families stationed to the region, where Welsh is the main language of public schooling".
"As mobility is a aspect of service life, service children can encounter regular transfers and the DSA-NW aims to lessen disruption to their education."
"The ministry acknowledges the contributions military members, and their families undertake, and through the stipend assists with the costs of private education given in the English language."
'In Areas With Bilingual or Non-English Instruction'
The benefit includes school costs up to a limit of twenty-two thousand seven hundred fifty-five pounds a year, £7,585 each semester, and is available to people residing in the counties of Conwy, the area, Gwynedd, the island or Flintshire and serving in one of the following establishments:
- RAF Valley, Anglesey
- Joint Services Mountain Training Centre, the island
- The joint military mountain unit, Llanrwst
- Wales University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), Bangor detachment, Caernarfon
The eligible private schools are Treffos school, the village, the island; Rydal Penrhos preparatory institution in the town; St Gerard's school, the city and St David's College, the town.
The relevant joint service publication states that "payment of the stipend is restricted to those regions where teaching in the public system is on a bilingual or non-English foundation".
People stationed in other locations in the multiple services of the military - the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force - can claim a educational continuity benefit which helps with boarding and/or tuition fees up to a cap, with a minimum parental contribution of ten percent for each eligible child.
Welsh Conservative assembly representative Natasha Asghar said "members of the British armed forces move around the country and the world, and the MoD has always sought to ensure that their kids have access to consistency in education".
"While we fully support Welsh-language teaching throughout the country, it's important to recognize there are two official languages in our country, English and the Welsh language, and local councils and education authorities should accommodate both."
"Parents should always have the option to select the medium in which their kids are taught."
The Welsh party's learning representative Cefin Campbell MS stated "not just is this a total misuse of funding, it is a slight to our language".
"It's hard to imagine any valid reason to be spending these funds annually, on preventing youth living in the country from having the chance to learn the Welsh tongue."
"Dual-language ability enhances life and aids the development of young people, but the British administration is clearly unaware to this."
"This money is a clear illustration of the attitude of the Westminster parties regarding Wales and the Welsh language - namely unawareness and disrespect."
