ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said the government will introduce measures to ban face coverings in schools and set a legal limit on the number of foreign students allowed in each class.
Speaking at the annual gathering of her Brothers of Italy party, PM Meloni said the measures would soon be presented to the Cabinet.
Under the proposed rules, a maximum number of foreign students would be set for each class. Parents of foreign students facing significant difficulties integrating into the Italian school system could also be required to learn Italian, she said.
PM Meloni said the government would also put forward a proposal to ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools.
She argued that if only one student in a class does not speak Italian, the child could learn the language relatively quickly with the help of classmates and teachers and become integrated into society. However, she said, if a large number of students do not understand Italian, or form a majority in a class, the situation would amount to neglect rather than integration.
PM Meloni also said students would have to attend school without face coverings, arguing that no one in Italy should be able to require a young woman to cover her face in the name of real or perceived traditions.
According to Italian research institute Fondazione ISMU, 11.6 per cent of students enrolled in Italian schools do not hold Italian citizenship roughly 12 out of every 100 students.
Italy is one of the main entry points for migrants arriving in Europe, with its location in the central Mediterranean making migration a longstanding challenge for successive governments.
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