Meloni: We will ban the niqab in schools and impose a cap on foreign students in classrooms

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday that the government intends to ban the wearing of the niqab in schools and impose a cap on the number of foreign students in each classroom, a move that highlights her party’s right-wing orientation.

Speaking at the annual gathering of her party’s youth wing, Meloni stated: “A draft decree will soon be submitted to the Council of Ministers to establish a legal cap on the number of foreign students in each classroom. The decree will also require the parents of foreign students who face significant difficulties integrating into the education system to learn Italian, and it will ban the wearing of the burqa and niqab in schools.”

She added: “Students must attend school with their faces uncovered. No one in Italy, in the name of a real or alleged tradition, should be allowed to force a young woman to hide herself.”

Meloni continued: “If there is only one child in the classroom who does not understand Italian, it is likely that this child can quickly learn the language and integrate with the help of classmates and teachers. However, if the number of children who do not understand the language increases, or even becomes the majority, this is no longer integration but neglect.”

Meloni did not specify the maximum number of foreign students allowed in each classroom.