Italy's right-wing government has banned face-covering clothing in schools. There are also new rules for parents and students with limited knowledge of the Italian language.
In future, Italian schools will ban face coverings. In addition, from the next school year, a maximum of 30 percent of students in a class will be foreigners with insufficient knowledge of the Italian language, the government in Rome announced.
"Organizing classes so that they are, let's say, balanced, is an instrument that benefits everyone and encourages integration," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told public broadcaster RAI on September 25.
She announced the controversial rules last week at a youth event for her right-wing Fratelli d'Italia ("Brothers of Italy") party. Now her cabinet has approved the measures by decree.
Meloni has led Italy's coalition government of right-wing and conservative parties since 2022. In that time, the 49-year-old politician successfully campaigned on the promise of a tough stance on migrants. Exceptions to the 30 percent limit
The decree mainly targets newly arrived students. In the first grades, a 30 percent quota will include children who do not have Italian citizenship, were not born in Italy and have not attended at least two years of Italian kindergarten.
In primary education, the same rules apply to upper grades and high schools, but instead of two years in kindergarten, students will need to have attended at least three years in Italian schools to be exempt from the 30 percent quota.
The decree also says that face coverings are not allowed and that the face must be clearly visible. This is likely to apply primarily to face coverings such as the burqa and niqab. The government did not say how many children could be affected by the rule.
Parents should learn Italian too
The new rules don't just apply to children. Parents with significant language difficulties will also have to attend Italian language courses if they can't communicate well with the school.
The decree requires schools to notify child and youth protection services when they identify serious language difficulties among parents. Social services will be able to offer free Italian language courses.
Those who do not adhere to the new rules will face fines. Italian media reports that parents could be fined between 200 and 1,000 euros.
fines
The education sector has already been criticized for the difficulties in implementing the measures in practice. One union has described the decree as "propaganda", saying it does not address the real problems in education.
Italy is due to hold elections next year. Polls show Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia party still leading the polls. However, in recent weeks, his right-wing coalition has come under increasing pressure from the new Futuro Nazionale ("National Future") party of former general Roberto Vanacci. The party has moved even further to the right and is calling for even stricter measures against migration./ DW
