Italy to limit foreign students, ban burqa and hijab in schools

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Sunday that Italy will ban face coverings including burqa and hijab in schools and impose a limit on the number of foreign students allowed per classroom, speaking at a youth event hosted by her Brothers of Italy party."A measure will soon be presented to a Cabinet meeting to legally establish a maximum number of foreign students per class. 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," Meloni said."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. However, 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," she added.She further said that Italian children should not feel like a minority in the classroom.The Italian PM said students must attend school with their faces uncovered, and that in Italy, no one can decide ,“ in the name of a real or supposed tradition”, that a young woman must hide herself.Italy's position in the central Mediterranean places it among the European nations most exposed to migrant arrivals, making immigration a highly sensitive issue and a persistent challenge for the governments that have followed one another.The integration of migrants, especially those coming from Muslim-majority countries, continues to be a divisive topic within Italian politics and society, with disputes over religious symbols, cultural assimilation, citizenship regulations and immigration policy regularly dividing public opinion.According to Fondazione ISMU, a research institution cited by Reuters, students who do not hold Italian citizenship make up 11.6 per cent of total school enrollment in Italy, roughly 12 out of every 100 students.Meloni, however, did not specify what the specific cap on foreign students per class would be.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.