Italy's cabinet caps some foreign pupils at 30 percent and bans school face veils
Italy's cabinet approved a school decree on Thursday that sets a 30 percent cap for specified foreign pupils and bans the burqa and niqab at school. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had said on Sunday that pupils must come to school with their faces uncovered. The cap in primary schools covers children who were not born in Italy or who lack two years of nursery. Parliament has 60 days to ratify the decree. Fines run from 200 to 1,000 euros.
Geopolitics··Morning
The decree the cabinet approved on Thursday
Italy's cabinet approved a school decree on Thursday. It sets a 30 percent cap for specified foreign pupils and bans the burqa and the niqab at school. The burqa is a full-body veil with a face covering; the niqab covers the face and leaves the eyes clear. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday that pupils must come to school with their faces uncovered. Al Jazeera reported the same cabinet step: a decree-law banning those veils in school and capping non-Italian speakers. The BBC, citing Fondazione ISMU, reported that non-Italian citizens make up 11.6 percent of pupils in Italy's schools, so the cap is not a description of the average classroom.[1], [2]
Who the 30 percent cap actually counts
In primary schools the 30 percent limit covers non-Italian pupils who were not born in Italy or who have not attended at least two years of nursery. The BBC reported that narrower definition. It is not a cap on every pupil with a foreign parent. Al Jazeera described the classroom cap as applying to non-Italian speakers. The two accounts name the same cabinet decision; the BBC is the one that spells out the birth and nursery tests.[1]
Sixty days for parliament, and a fine on parents
The measure is a decree-law, so it can take effect before parliament votes, and parliament has 60 days to ratify it. Al Jazeera reported that same 60-day ratification. Euronews, in the BBC account, reported an administrative fine from 200 to 1,000 euros, charged to a parent when the pupil is a minor. Al Jazeera put the top of the fine at 1,000 euros. Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein called the plan propaganda. That is her political description, reported as such. The decree puts a 30 percent cap on some foreign pupils and a school ban on the burqa and the niqab in the same text. The 30 percent limit in primary schools covers pupils who were not born in Italy or who lack at least 2 years of nursery. Parliament has to ratify the decree within 60 days. The BBC and Al Jazeera both report that 30 percent cap and that veil ban. The magnitude is one decree and a face veil inside school buildings, not a national migration quota.[1], [2]
