Students object to modules not be taught entirely in Welsh

More than 250 members of Welsh language student union - UMCA - marched through the streets of the seaside town on Thursday before handing in 500 written complaints at the University's headquarters in the Old College.

The protest on Thursday was over what students claim is a lack of Welsh language education provision.

And the collected individual complaints follows a request by senior officials at the University to see individual cases of the perceived lack of provision.

Rhys Jones says he has less time to do his work when he wants to submit it in Welsh In pictures

The protest follows two weeks after a similar demonstration during a visit by Welsh assembly minister Jane Davidson to Aberystwyth.

"Prospective students are under the impression they will be able to study wholly through the medium of Welsh when they arrive at Aberystwyth in the first year," said UMCA President Catrin Dafydd.

Lack of staff

"Some departments behave as if they haven't ever heard of Wales by offering next to nothing through the medium of Welsh and refusing to correspond in Welsh with students who have asked them to do so.

"A number of modules are offered through the medium of Welsh in the prospectus, but as the term progresses students often find those modules are not taught wholly in Welsh."

Students claim a lack of Welsh speaking administrative staff should be addressed by the university.

They also claim that posters, general correspondence and adverts are either monolingual or have English put on top of Welsh.

UMCA believes the university should 'improve its attitude'

Osian Rhys, the Guild of Student's Welsh Language Officer said: "In some cases, Welsh speaking lecturers are obliged to teach in English knowing that 70% of the students are also Welsh speakers."

Jane Davidson has said she had been clear the she was committed to working to make bilingualism a reality in Wales.

She said that �1.23m for Welsh medium provision had been provided to institutions this year.

Under this provision, �222,500 has also been allocated to higher education establishments at Aberystwyth, Bangor and Carmarthen.

But UMCA believes the University needs to improve its attitude towards Welsh.

"The University could do much more with the money it has to provide Welsh language provision and it also needs to improve its staff's attitude towards the Welsh language."