 Three in four of the county's schools are Welsh-medium |
The Welsh Language Board has called for "crisis talks" with Carmarthenshire Council over the recruitment of its new �100,000-a-year education director. The area has the highest number of Welsh-speakers, but the council has not made the language a requirement for the post.
The authority said that when it first advertised the job with Welsh as "essential", only five people applied.
But board chair Meri Huws said it was a "serious lapse of judgement".
Ms Huws said: "Due to the unique and important standing of the Welsh language in Carmarthenshire, the Welsh Language Board believes that the council must appoint a bilingual director of education and children's services."
She said the board had "serious concerns" about how it sought to choose a new director and said it had "doubts" that the council had conformed to its statutory language scheme.
Ms Huws called for the postponement of recruitment.
Last week, 200 people attended a protest meeting addressed by two former education directors.
 The council is 'happy' to meet the Welsh Language Board's Meri Huws |
The meeting was organised by one of the council's eight-strong appointments panel, Peter Hughes Griffiths.
He said he would refuse to take part in interviews, which were due to start on Wednesday.
Mr Griffiths said: "I'm concerned at the possibility of a non-Welsh speaker from England being appointed in a bilingual county where three-quarters of schools teach through the medium of Welsh."
'Perfectly correct'
The council said it had received a marked increase in applications after re-advertising, including applications from Welsh-speakers.
A spokeswoman said it was "more than confident that we have acted totally in accordance with all our procedures and policies, including our Welsh language scheme".
She said it had taken advice from a barrister, who confirmed that the council's approach was "perfectly correct".
The spokeswoman added: "We have not yet had an opportunity to respond to the Welsh Language Board, but will be doing so shortly."
She said the council was happy to meet the meet the board "but we remain convinced that we have acted properly at all times."
"This is a critical post for the delivery of a first class education service in Carmarthenshire and for the protection of our most vulnerable young people and it is essential that we get the best person for the job," she added.
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