EUROPE/SPAIN - November 12 Madrid protest against proposed new education law has full support of network of Family Policy Institutes in Europe: ‘the state has the duty to guarantee parents’ right to decide how children are educated’

Madrid (Fides Service) - Representatives of Family Policy Institutes in Europe and Latin America will take part in the November 12 demonstration in Madrid to protest against a proposed law which violates parents right to decide how children are to be educated. The Institutes say the law in question is “regressive, interventionist and even unconstitutional at the juridical level since it violates the rights of parents and families”. Eduardo Hertfelder, president of Spain’s Family Policy Institute says “the new law does nothing to address the present serious deficiencies in the nation’s education system including degraded quality, on the contrary it lowers the academic level. It is unconstitutional since it violates parent’s constitutional right to decide how children are educated limiting this right with arbitrary criteria. Moreover, despite unanimous rejection on the part of the educational community, and of parents and families and society in general, the government intends to impose the law and restrict the rights of parents and families”. Hertfelder said it is extremely concerning to see an executive which intends to govern without social dialogue or consensus.
Madrid’s Diocesan Laity Council issued a statement read in every parish last Sunday encouraging people to take part in the demonstration for freedom of education organised by various educational organisations. “The proposed law is not an answer to education problems - the statement reads -, it fails to promote integral education and overlooks the values of effort and commitment”. The law “respects neither freedom of education or parent’s right to give children religious and moral education”.
Luis Carbonel president of the Confederation of Catholic Parents, the main organising body of the protest, has called on society at large to demand guaranteed quality education for all because this proposed law “denies parent’s right to choose a school, denies parent’s freedom to choose the education they want for their children”. The law “reduces religious instruction to an option replacing it with compulsory Education to Citizenship which is none other than indoctrination on secular state morals”. “It is not the right of public authorities to decide how citizens are educated - said Luis Carbonel - it is their duty to guarantee parents freedom to choose the type of education for their children with no other than constitutional limits”. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/11/2005, righe 30, parole 417)