Puerto Rico Governor Wants English to be the Primary Language in Puerto Rican Schools

The Puerto Rico governor wants Puerto Rican schools to teach English as the primary language, and not Spanish.

With this, the governor, Luis Fortuño, plans not to eradicate Spanish but on the other hand have Puerto Ricans dominate English the way they do Spanish.

"Bilingualism opens doors and provides our children with opportunities to excel and achieve success in a labor market increasingly competitive and globalized," he said in a report by the Associated Press.

According to the report, only 12 of the 1,472 schools in the Caribbean island offer English programs aligned with what Fortuño envisions.

Fortuño envisions public schools to teach primarily English and have some classes like literature and grammar to be taught in Spanish.

Under his plan, all public schools in Puerto Rico should be bilingual by 2022.

Some citizens have responded negatively.

"Puerto Rico is Puerto Rico. Under this governor, this country will sooner or later be called 'Port Rich'. I prefer Puerto Rico," Juana Contreras, a Puerto Rican native, told the Latinos Post.

But others like, Rodrigo Perez believes that Puerto Ricans are missing the point.

"I think they are misunderstanding the Governor's intention. He wants to push the country forward and not erase the country's identity. I believe this isn't an option, it is a requirement," he told the Latinos Post.

According to the latest U.S. census results, some 2.8 million out of the island's 3.9 million people say they cannot speak fluent English while another study conducted by the University of Puerto Rico concludes that nine of every 10 people in Puerto Rico do not speak English at an advanced level.