Italy is preparing new measures that would ban burqas and niqabs in schools and introduce a legal limit on the number of foreign students allowed in each classroom, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced.
Meloni announced the proposals at a youth event organised by her Brothers of Italy party in Rome. The measures are expected to be presented to the Council of Ministers before moving through the legislative process. They have not yet become law.
The proposed education measures would also require parents of foreign students experiencing serious difficulties integrating into the Italian school system to attend Italian-language classes. The government has linked the proposals to improving language skills and integration within schools.
Italy already has rules limiting the proportion of foreign students in classrooms, with a 30% guideline introduced in 2010, although the government has not yet specified how the proposed new limit would differ from the existing framework. Foreign citizens currently account for around 11.6% of students enrolled in Italian schools, according to figures cited by Reuters.
The proposals have emerged amid an ongoing debate in Italy over immigration, education and integration, with the government considering changes to school policies and language support for immigrant families.
