Cymdeithas yr Iaith has submitted a formal complaint to the Welsh Government's Education Secretary over Ceredigion council's decision to push ahead with a consultation on the closure of three rural schools. The Welsh language campaigners say the Plaid Cymru-run council has not fulfilled its statutory duties and that they expect the consultation to be deemed 'invalid. In the letter to Lynne Neagle MS, Cymdeithas claims that the council has not fulfilled its statutory duties in failing to follow the directives in the Welsh Government's School Organization Code, which states that a local authority must start the process with a presumption in favour of maintaining schools that are on its list to be protected.
Consultations have already opened on the closure of Ysgol Llangwyryfon, Ysgol Craig-yr Wylfa in Y Borth and Ysgol Syr John Rhys, Ponterwyd this week, and the council will spend 28 days discussing with the Church in Wales on Ysgol Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn before conducting a similar public consultation on it. Ffred Ffransis, on behalf of the Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Education Group, explained: "When introducing the new edition of the Code in 2018, Kirsty Williams, minister responsible for education at the time, said that a local authority should only propose to close a rural school on the list after considering all alternative options. "In a meeting with Cymdeithas yr Iaith last month, the current Education Secretary, Lynne Neagle MS, emphasised that this should be a conscienti.