Italy plans to ban niqab in schools, set foreign student cap

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to ban the niqab in schools and impose a limit on foreign students per classroom. In an address to a youth gathering of her party, Meloni announced a draft decree would soon be presented to the Cabinet to legally establish the maximum number of foreign students in each class. The proposal would also require parents of foreign students facing significant integration challenges to learn Italian, and prohibit the wearing of the burqa and niqab in educational institutions.

Meloni stated that if a class contains only one student who cannot understand Italian, that student is likely to learn the language and integrate quickly. However, if the number of non-Italian-speaking students increases or becomes the majority, integration becomes neglect rather than assistance. Italy, located in the heart of the Mediterranean, is a key destination for migrant flows, making migration a crucial issue and ongoing challenge for successive governments.

The integration of migrants, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries, remains a contentious topic in Italian politics and society.