Italy plans school veil ban and cap on foreign students

ROME: Italy is preparing new measures that would ban face-covering veils in schools and introduce limits on the number of foreign students allowed in individual classrooms, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday.

Meloni announced the proposed measures while addressing an annual gathering of the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party. The plans are part of her government’s broader approach to immigration, integration and education.

She said a proposal would soon be presented to the Cabinet to establish a maximum number of foreign students in each class. The government also plans to require parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the Italian education system to learn Italian.

The proposed legislation would also prohibit the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools, according to Meloni.

The prime minister argued that students who do not speak Italian need appropriate support to integrate into the education system. She said a small number of students struggling with the language could learn it with assistance from teachers and classmates.

However, she argued that classrooms with a large proportion of students who do not understand Italian could create greater challenges for integration.

Meloni did not provide a specific figure for the proposed limit on foreign students per classroom. Further details are expected when the measure is formally presented to the Cabinet.

According to data from the Fondazione ISMU, a research organisation, students without Italian citizenship make up around 11.6% of pupils enrolled in Italian schools.

Italy has faced sustained political debate over immigration because of its location in the central Mediterranean, which has made the country a major entry point for migrants arriving in Europe.

The integration of migrants has remained a sensitive issue, particularly concerning people from Muslim-majority countries. Questions surrounding religious clothing, cultural integration, citizenship and immigration policy have generated strong political debate.

Meloni defended the proposed restrictions on face coverings by saying students should attend school with their faces visible. She also argued that cultural or religious traditions should not determine whether young women are required to cover their faces.

The government is expected to provide further details on the proposed classroom limits and the education measures when the legislation is brought before the Cabinet