Meloni bans burqas in schools and limits foreign student intake

Giorgia Meloni has promised to ban burqas and niqabs inside Italy's schools. She also wants to limit the number of foreign students allowed in any given class. The far-right Prime Minister made these moves at a gathering for her party, the Brothers of Italy (FdI), on Sunday. Immigration looms large as a central issue for next year's general election.

Meloni told a crowd at the Gioventu Nazionale festival in Rome that anyone coming to Italy must learn their language and respect their rules. "For us, anyone who comes to Italy and wants to build their future here must learn our language, understand our culture, and respect our rules," she said. The audience gave her a standing ovation. She called this strict approach the only serious way to welcome newcomers. Parents of foreign students facing "serious difficulties integrating into the school system" would be forced to take Italian language lessons.

If the government approves these changes, they must pass through parliament within 60 days to become law. This timeline is tight. Meloni's administration has already held the record as Italy's longest-running government since the Second World War ended. Yet her party faces a serious challenge in 2027 from the National Future (FN) party. The FN sits further right than FdI and its popularity has been rapidly increasing in polls since February.

The League party, an anti-immigrant group inside Meloni's ruling coalition, pushed for this crackdown earlier this year. They submitted a bill to ban helmets or garments that hide the face, allowing exceptions only for sporting events or places of worship. In July, FN also called for stopping the wearing of burqas in schools.

A 1975 law currently prohibits helmets or garments that make identification difficult without a justified reason. A 2008 ruling clarified that full-face coverings could be worn for religious or cultural reasons if the face is revealed when identity verification is required. Neither covering is expressly banned today, but Meloni wants to change that.

Burqas are full-face veils sometimes worn by Muslim women that hide the entire face, including the eyes. Niqabs look similar, but they leave the eyes visible. Foreign students currently make up about 12 percent of enrolment in Italian schools. A 30 percent limit on foreign students per class and school already exists under Italian law. Meloni did not spell out exactly how her proposal would change that existing cap.

Critics warn these moves could hurt communities trying to integrate. "Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism," protesters noted regarding a related bill, adding voice to the tension in the air. The proposed rules risk turning schools into battlegrounds rather than places of learning and unity. With polls shifting so fast, the political stakes are higher than ever before.