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

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced that her government intends to ban the wearing of the niqab in schools and set a maximum limit on the number of foreign students in each classroom.

According to Reuters, Meloni told an annual gathering of the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party: "A draft decree will soon be presented to the Cabinet to legally establish a maximum number of foreign students per class."

Meloni added that the proposal would also require parents of foreign students who face significant difficulties integrating into the education system to learn Italian, and would prohibit the wearing of the burqa and niqab in schools.

The prime minister said, "If there is only one child in the class who does not understand Italian, that child is likely to learn the language and integrate quickly with the help of classmates and teachers. But if the number of children who do not understand the language increases, or even becomes the majority, this is no longer integration but neglect."

Italy is among the European countries most affected by migrant flows due to its central location in the Mediterranean, making migration a key issue and ongoing challenge for successive governments. The integration of migrants, especially those from Muslim-majority countries, remains one of the most contentious topics in Italian politics and society.