Italy Moves to Cap Foreign Pupils and Ban the Burqa in Schools

Italy's ministers have agreed to ban the burqa and the niqab in schools and to place a cap on the number of foreign pupils in each class, the BBC reported on Thursday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the measures as "common-sense tools that do not divide but really help to integrate".

The New York Times reported the same decision and set out the dispute around it: Meloni said the goal was to better integrate children who do not speak Italian, while critics accused her of trying to appease anti-immigrant sentiment. The paper's headline frames the move as a cap on foreign students in Italian classrooms.

The Local Italy had reported earlier in the week that the pledge was made over the weekend, and asked what was driving the clampdown. The two wires published on Thursday are the first to describe the measures as agreed by the cabinet rather than merely proposed.