On Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced plans for a new measure aimed at prohibiting the wearing of burqas and niqabs in educational institutions. In addition to this ban, the government intends to limit the number of foreign students allowed in classrooms. These proposals reflect ongoing discussions in Italy regarding cultural integration and educational policies.
Meloni also stated that the announced measure, when brought in, would also require “parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to learn 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,” Meloni said, according to Reuters. However, the Italian PM said that 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.”
Once approved by the government, the new measure would need parliamentary approval within 60 days to pass into law.
Meloni, addressing an annual gathering of the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party, said, “A measure will soon be presented to a Cabinet meeting to legally establish a maximum number of foreign students per class. Earlier reporting noted: Meloni told the youth wing of her nationalist conservative Brothers of Italy party that the measure would also make Italian language lessons compulsory for parents of foreign students having “serious difficulties integrating into the school system. Earlier reporting noted: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Sunday she’ll soon introduce a measure to her government that would cap the number of foreign students in classrooms and ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools.
It also requires parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to learn Italian and bans burqas and niqabs in schools.
