Ministry of Defence Allocates Large Sums on Private Education to Avoid Welsh Language Teaching

The MoD allocates approximately one million pounds each year to place students to private schools in north Wales because "public schools provide various classes in the Welsh tongue".

It paid £1,019,000 in day school allowance in the northern region for eighty-three students of military families in the current academic year, and £942,000 for seventy-nine students in the previous year under a established practice.

A spokesperson said "service children can face frequent moves" and the allowance "aims to reduce interruption to their schooling".

The Welsh party called it a "total misuse of funds" and "an insult to our language" while the Conservatives said parents should be able to select the language in which their kids are taught.

The figures were acquired following a inquiry under the Freedom of Information Act.

The online portal of RAF Valley on Anglesey informs its workforce, "for those residing and working in north Wales, where state schools provide various lessons in the Welsh tongue, you may choose to send your kids to an English-language independent school".

"As long as you are joined by your family at your duty station, you can use this benefit to cover the expense of school charges, educational excursions/residential educational courses and regular commuting."

An MoD spokesperson told, "the purpose of Day School Allowance in North Wales (the allowance) is to support service families stationed to the area, where Welsh is the main language of public schooling".

"As mobility is a part of military career, service children can face regular transfers and the this allowance seeks to lessen disruption to their learning."

"The MoD supports the contributions service personnel, and their relatives make, and from the stipend assists with the costs of independent day schooling provided in the English language."

'In Areas With Bilingual or Non-English Instruction'

The allowance includes tuition fees up to a limit of £22,755 a year, seven thousand five hundred eighty-five pounds per term, and is available to personnel living in the counties of the county, the area, the locality, the island or Flintshire and serving in these specific locations:

• The military base, Anglesey
• Joint Services Mountain Training Centre, the island
• The joint military mountain unit, the town
• The university military training program (UOTC), Bangor detachment, Caernarfon

The qualifying independent institutions are Treffos institution, the village, the island; Rydal Penrhos preparatory institution in the town; St Gerard's school, Bangor and St David's institution, the town.

The applicable military policy document states that "disbursement of the allowance is restricted to those areas where instruction in the state sector is on a dual-language or non-English foundation".

People stationed in other locations in the three branches of the armed forces - the Army, the naval service and the Royal Air Force - can apply for a continuity of education allowance which contributes towards residential and/or tuition fees up to a maximum rate, with a minimum parental contribution of ten percent for each eligible child.

Welsh Conservative Senedd member Natasha Asghar commented "personnel of the UK military move around the country and the world, and the MoD have always tried to ensure that their children have availability to continuity in schooling".

"Although we strongly endorse Welsh-medium education across the country, it's important to remember there are dual recognized tongues in our country, the English tongue and Welsh, and local councils and school boards should provide for each."

"Families should always have the option to select the medium in which their kids are instructed."

Plaid Cymru's learning representative the assembly member stated "not only is this a complete waste of funding, it is an insult to our language".

"It's hard to imagine any valid reason to be spending these funds annually, on blocking youth residing in Wales from having the opportunity to learn the Welsh language."

"Bilingualism enhances life and aids the development of youth, but the British administration is obviously unaware to this."

"This money is a perfect example of the attitude of the Westminster parties regarding Wales and the native tongue - namely unawareness and insults."