Legislation
Legislation regarding vernacular education usually gives vernacular speakers
the right to education in their own language and is certainly commendable.
However, legislation alone is not enough, as a method of enforcement is also
necessary. Williams (1973, p. 99) reports thatthe Welsh Board of Education
stated that "where Welsh is the mother-tongue of the infants, that language
shall be the medium of instruction in the classes". The local education
authorities and teachers, however, responded only very sluggisly. Similarly,
in West Frisia, where Frisian was introduced as a compulsory subject on first
August 1980, the board of each individual school can decide how much
attention it pays to the law: whether there is one lesson a week for Frisian or
a bilingual programme is introduced (Zondag, 1982).