The proposal launched this morning in an interview with was not well received by everyone Free by the Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, to create a plan for schools in which there will be support classes in the morning and reinforcement classes in the afternoon for foreign students with linguistic or mathematical deficits . The Democratic Party speaks of an “ideological proposal”, while the 5 Star Movement accuses Valditara of thus leading to the “creation of ghettos”: for the opposition parties, the minister's plan risks fueling rather than fighting the real problem of low inclusion and widespread school dropout of foreign students in our country. Given the data, the situation appears dramatic. The phenomenon of academic delay is particularly problematic, particularly in high schools, where almost half of students of foreign origin are one or more years behind (48.4%). Early dropout from studies is equally worrying.
The Valditara plan
In detail, the Valditara plan requires each school to assess the language skills of non-Italian students upon registration. Then, the school can choose between three paths: if the level of Italian language learning is good, students can be placed directly in ordinary classes. If, however, there are significant deficits, two alternatives can be adopted: take Italian lessons and, possibly, mathematics in academic support classes with specialized teachers during the school day, or participate in compulsory skills strengthening activities. language in the afternoon. As for resources to finance the plan, Valditara reports that there are 85 million euros from Mim, while the Ministry of Interior provides an additional 70 million euros from the asylum, migration and integration fund . The Northern League minister's idea, he himself explained, was inspired by other foreign countries where a combined approach was adopted, so that some students participate in certain lessons in regular classes and others in separate programs.
Presidiums in favor, unions on a war footing
If Valditara's proposal finds the support of the National Association of Principals (ANP) according to which it is time to act “with a specific intervention within schools to make foreign students literate, who are often directed towards volunteer centers exteriors”, at the same time the plan was the subject of strong criticism. “With separate or transitional classes, you are winking at your electorate with an ideological proposal,” attacks the director of the Democratic Party school, Irène Manzi. “Reserving separate lessons for groups of students leads to the construction of “ghettos” in each school, with the consequence of hindering the informal learning of the Italian language, which those who know the school know as important as the formal learning because it produces mutual exchanges. integration”, attack the leaders of the M5S group in the Culture Commission of the Chamber and Senate Antonio Caso and Luca Pirondini. And the unions are also on a war footing, with the Flc CGIL firmly opposing it. “Minister Valditara continues to announce reforms in the press. We are firmly opposed to the hypothesis of differential classes, we believe that inclusion requires strengthening the training offer”, declares secretary Gianna Fracassi. The Uil school then wants to clarify that “the principle director should be to guarantee rights over time: to education, to integration and inclusion. And to provide quality, sustainable and stable responses to schools which can, autonomously, organize the response to the best inclusion.” Finally, the ICFTU is in dialogue and says it is open to a broader discussion on the subject.
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