Italy is preparing new school measures that could change rules on face coverings and the number of foreign students in classrooms.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the proposed measures on Sunday during an annual youth gathering organised by her party.
The plans include banning burqas and niqabs in schools and introducing a maximum number of foreign students per class.
However, Meloni did not announce the specific limit for foreign students in each classroom.
Italy Plans New School Rules
Meloni said a measure will soon be presented to a Cabinet meeting to establish the proposed classroom limit.
The plan would also require some parents of foreign students to learn Italian.
This requirement would apply where foreign students face serious difficulties integrating into the Italian school system.
At the same time, the proposed measure would ban burqas and niqabs in schools.
Meloni linked the measures to challenges surrounding language learning and integration in Italian classrooms.
What Meloni Said About Integration
Meloni explained her position by focusing on the number of students who may struggle to understand Italian.
“If there is only one child in a class who doesn’t understand Italian, that child will likely be able to learn the language and integrate quickly with the help of classmates and teachers. However, if the number of children who don’t understand the language becomes large — or even the majority — that is no longer integration; it is neglect,” she said.
The prime minister did not provide a specific figure for the proposed maximum number of foreign students.
Therefore, the exact classroom limit remains unclear at this stage.
Face Coverings Also Targeted
The proposed school measures would also address face coverings, specifically burqas and niqabs.
Meloni said schools should require students to attend with their faces uncovered.
“You must go to school with your face uncovered, and in Italy no one, in the name of a real or supposed tradition, can decide that a young woman must hide herself, ” Meloni said.
The proposed restriction concerns schools and does not represent a general ban described in the announcement.
Foreign Students Make Up 11.6% of Enrolment
Students without Italian citizenship account for 11.6 percent of those enrolled in Italian schools.
That figure means almost 12 out of every 100 students are not Italian citizens, according to Fondazione ISMU.
Meanwhile, the issue of migrant integration remains a subject of political and social debate in Italy.
The country receives significant migrant arrivals because of its central Mediterranean location.
Consequently, migration and integration have remained prominent issues for successive Italian governments.
For now, however, the proposed classroom limit and other measures still await the next stage of the government process.
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