Why did efforts to teach Basque in primary schools become important?

Efforts to teach Basque in primary schools became important primarily as a response to the language's struggle for survival, particularly since the early 1800s. As industrialization and urban development expanded, the use of Basque declined in many larger towns, leading to a critical need to preserve the language against the dominance of Spanish and French.12

The language faced significant pressure and periods of suppression, most notably after the Spanish Civil War, when its use in public was discouraged due to the political affiliations of the Basque people. Consequently, introducing Basque into primary education became a vital strategy for cultural preservation and linguistic revitalization. These efforts were supported by the development of a written standard known as Euskara Batua (Unified Basque), which helped provide a consistent framework for instruction and broader communication.31