Urkullu has made these statements in Trapagaran, at the Itxaropena ikastola, coinciding with Ibilaldia2012, a fund-raising sponsored walk, where he was accompanied by the Deputy General for Bizkaia, José Luis Bilbao, Bizkaia’s Deputy for Culture, Josune Ariztondo, the chairman of the Basque National Party’s Bizkaia Committee (BBB), Andoni Ortuzar, and the MP Iñigo Iturrate, among others.

The nationalist leader has declared that this is a day for "honouring" the ikastola in Trapagaran and all the others in the Zona Minera and Margen Izquierda for the "endeavour" they have shown in recent decades "to spread euskera also to these areas, where it was not the mother tongue ".

"In addition to expressing our admiration, today is a day of celebration and commitment on which the Basque National Party wishes to applaud a quality education in Basque, where the ikastolas have set a fine example", he added.

The nationalist leader has also referred to the commitment to ensure the Basque language is passed down from "generation to generation" thanks to the ikastolas and the education model designed to guarantee its normal everyday use.

Urkullu has stressed the Basque National Party’s policy whereby the ikastolas themselves and the education system will have the action plans required for this normalisation.