(Roberto Rizzuto) The temperature in view of the new school year is going up. In the last couple of days we wrote about the difficult situation due to the economic cuts imposed by the Economy minister Giulio Tremonti. Another problem is overcrowded classes. At the moment the central office for the prevention of fires and the Education Ministry are arguing because of the maximum number of children in each class.

 

According to a law passed by the Home Office in 1992, the maximum number of students should be 26 units. But this limit does not coincide with the new laws imposed by the education minister Gelmini, according to which new classes should have at least 27 students.

 

So the students’ safety is at risk. The situation is made even more complicated by the data concerning buildings. According to a recent report published by Legambiente, an Italian environmental association, Italian schools are “old”, since 60 out of 100 were built before 1974. Moreover 30% of institute need urgent renovation.
These number obviously worry families. So, while we are still waiting for the school bell to ring again, there are still many hurdles to overcome…

Translated by Chiara Nunnari from John Milton Institute