by InTrieste
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy’s government is preparing legislation that would set a legal maximum number of foreign students in each classroom and prohibit the wearing of the burqa and niqab in schools, opening a new debate over integration and education policy.
Speaking Sunday at Fenix, the youth festival of her party, Fratelli d’Italia, Meloni said the Council of Ministers would soon examine a bill introducing a binding cap on foreign pupils per class. She also said parents of foreign students facing serious integration difficulties would be required to learn Italian.
Meloni argued that it was unacceptable for Italian children to feel like a minority in their own classrooms and said the measures were intended to strengthen school integration.
A proposal building on existing rules
Italy already has a 30% guideline for the number of foreign students in each class, introduced through a 2010 ministerial directive. The limit is not legally binding and includes several exemptions, meaning it is often exceeded. The government has not yet clarified how the proposed law would differ in practice or how it would be enforced.
The announcement mirrors positions advanced in recent months by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who has advocated stricter limits on foreign enrollment in classrooms and a ban on face-covering veils in schools.
Political and legal debate
The proposals drew immediate criticism from opposition politicians and education groups.
Antonio Decaro, president of the southern Puglia region, said schools should be places where no child feels foreign, while members of the Greens and Left Alliance argued the government was prioritizing symbolic cultural issues over challenges such as teacher pay.
Constitutional law scholars have also raised questions about the measures, noting that Article 34 of Italy’s Constitution guarantees access to education for all children, including foreign nationals.
Teaching unions, which opposed similar proposals earlier this year, are expected to challenge the legislation once its text is formally presented.
The government has not announced a date for the bill to be submitted to the Council of Ministers.
