She told supporters she would soon introduce a Bill to “establish by law a maximum number of foreign students per class, require parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties with integration at school to learn Italian and ban the burka and niqab in the classroom”.

“It is unthinkable that, in an Italian classroom, it is the Italian children who feel they have become a minority,” she added.

“In our view, anyone who comes to Italy to build a future here must learn our language, understand our culture and respect our rules.”

Her proposal received support from Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage who said he completely agreed with the Italian Prime Minister.

Mr Farage said: “Under a Reform UK Government, all face coverings will be banned.

“No ifs, no buts. This is Britain, we show our faces.”

Around 930,000 non-Italian students are currently enrolled in the country’s schools, representing almost 11.6 per cent of the school population, according to research institute Fondazione ISMU.

Ms Meloni said: “You must go to school with your face uncovered… In Italy no one, in the name of a real or supposed tradition, can decide that a young woman must hide herself.”

Ms Meloni did not elaborate on what the maximum number of foreign students would be in the classroom.

Her country currently has a 30 per cent cap on foreign pupils, but this limit has often gone unenforced.

Angelo Bonelli, an MP for the Green and Left Alliance, condemned Ms Meloni and instead ordered her to pay teachers more.

He said: “The truth is that the Prime Minister is not at all interested in how schools work. Our teachers’ salaries are among the lowest in Europe.”

In 2025, Ms Meloni’s FdI put forward a Bill to ban the burka and niqab in all public spaces in response to combat “Islamic separatism, religious radicalisation and religiously motivated hatred”.

Anyone wearing the garments in schools, universities, shops and offices will face fines of over £2,500 if it is passed.

The law would also ban virginity testing and make religious forced marriages punishable by law.

“The law against Islamic separatism represents a necessary step to protect Italian identity, the safety of citizens, and the freedom of women,” her party said in a statement as it announced the crackdown last year.

The 2025 legislation is still under consideration in Italy’s lower house.

“It’s not about limiting religious freedom, but about preventing it from being exploited to justify practices incompatible with the principles of our constitution and our society.

“We want to intervene against Islamic separatism, a phenomenon manifested through the creation of enclaves where sharia law prevails over Italian law.

“While not at the same level as France, worrying signs are beginning to emerge in Italy too.”

France passed a similar ban on all face coverings in 2011 – while countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland have imposed some form of ban.

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld these bans, backing Belgium’s in 2017 and ruling that states may restrict the veils to protect “living together” in society.

Last year, Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin led her party’s fury on the issue when she raised it to Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs.

Ms Pochin went on to back Ms Meloni, telling the Express: “I fully support Georgia Meloni’s call for a ban on the burka and niqab in public spaces. Italy is following the lead of many other countries who put the security of their citizens fir

Italy Burka Ban: Giorgia Meloni Unveils Face Covering Ban in Bid to Protect Italy from ‘Islamic Separatism’

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans to ban burqas and niqabs in schools as part of a wider package of measures aimed at strengthening integration and setting clearer rules for foreign families.

The proposed legislation would also introduce a limit on the number of foreign students allowed in individual classrooms and require parents of foreign pupils experiencing serious integration difficulties to learn Italian.

Meloni announced the measures at Fenix, an event organised by the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party in Rome. The proposals have immediately placed immigration, religious expression and integration at the centre of Italy’s political debate ahead of next year’s general election.

Importantly, the measure announced by Meloni is a proposal for schools, rather than an already enacted nationwide ban on Islamic face coverings.

The Government is expected to present the package to the Council of Ministers before it goes through the parliamentary process. Under the proposed procedure reported by AP, parliamentary approval would be required before the measure could become law.

Meloni’s argument for the ban

Meloni framed the proposed face-covering restriction around education, gender equality and integration.

She argued that students should attend school with their faces visible and said that no tradition should be used to require a young woman to hide her face.

Her government has therefore focused specifically on garments that cover the face, such as the burqa and niqab.

The proposal does not target ordinary Islamic headscarves such as the hijab, which leaves the face uncovered. Reuters reported that Meloni specifically referred to burqas and niqabs when announcing the school measure.

Meloni said that gender equality was not negotiable in Italy and presented the measure as part of the Government’s approach to integration.

The issue is nevertheless controversial because face coverings can involve several overlapping questions: religious freedom, individual choice, women’s rights, security and the role of the state in regulating religious expression.

The Government’s supporters argue that schools need clear rules allowing pupils and teachers to communicate openly.

Critics of restrictions on religious clothing have raised concerns about whether such measures interfere with individual religious freedom.

A broader package of integration measures

The proposed burqa and niqab restriction is only one element of the package.

Meloni also announced plans to establish a legal maximum for foreign students in each classroom.

The exact limit has not yet been specified.

According to Reuters, students who do not hold Italian citizenship account for approximately 11.6 per cent of pupils in Italian schools. That amounts to roughly 930,000 students.

Meloni argued that integration becomes more difficult if large numbers of pupils cannot understand the language used in the classroom.

She distinguished between a small number of children who need help learning Italian and classrooms in which a large proportion of pupils struggle with the language.

Her position is that the education system must ensure that children can participate fully in Italian society rather than being isolated linguistically or socially.

The Government has not yet explained exactly how the proposed cap would work.

It remains unclear whether the limit would be applied nationally, regionally or according to individual school circumstances.

Those details will be important because the distribution of foreign pupils varies substantially between different parts of Italy.

Italian language requirements for parents

Another part of the proposal would require parents of foreign students who experience serious integration difficulties to learn Italian.

Meloni has argued that integration cannot be limited to children.

If parents are unable to communicate effectively with schools, teachers and public authorities, the Government believes that this can create additional barriers to successful integration.

The proposed requirement therefore seeks to place greater responsibility on families as well as schools.

However, the practical details have yet to be announced.

The Government will need to determine who would qualify for mandatory language lessons, how “serious difficulties” would be defined and what consequences could follow if parents failed to comply.

Those questions are likely to become part of the parliamentary debate.

Italy’s wider immigration debate

Immigration has been one of the defining issues of Meloni’s political career.

Her Brothers of Italy party built much of its political identity around national sovereignty, immigration control and cultural issues before Meloni became Prime Minister.

Italy’s geographical position in the central Mediterranean has made the country a major arrival point for migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa.

As a result, successive Italian governments have faced pressure over irregular migration, asylum applications and the integration of migrants already living in the country.

Meloni’s Government has pursued agreements with countries in North Africa and other measures intended to reduce irregular migration.

The latest school proposals extend that approach into the question of integration.

Rather than focusing exclusively on border controls, the Government is also attempting to define expectations for migrants who settle in Italy.

Meloni has said that people who want to build their future in Italy should learn the Italian language, understand the country’s culture and respect its laws.

The political context

The timing of the announcement is significant.

Italy is expected to hold its next general election in 2027, and immigration is likely to remain an important campaign issue.

Meloni’s government is also facing political competition from figures further to the right.

Euronews reported that retired general Roberto Vannacci has emerged as a challenger on the right, campaigning for tougher positions on immigration and other cultural issues.

That creates an additional political dimension to Meloni’s announcement.

The Prime Minister’s party has already adopted a firm position on immigration and integration. At the same time, pressure from parties and politicians further to the right can encourage competition over issues such as migration, national identity and cultural integration.

The proposed school measures therefore have both a policy and political significance.

Italy is not the first European country to restrict face coverings

Italy would not be the first European country to impose restrictions on face coverings.

France introduced a nationwide prohibition on concealing the face in public places in 2010.

Belgium has also adopted restrictions, while Austria has introduced rules affecting face coverings in schools.

However, the legal foundations and scope of these measures differ between countries.

The Italian proposal announced by Meloni is currently focused on schools.

That distinction matters because a nationwide prohibition in all public spaces would represent a substantially broader restriction than the measure currently being proposed.

In fact, Italy’s ruling Brothers of Italy party had already proposed broader restrictions in 2025.

Reuters reported that legislation presented by the party sought to prohibit face coverings in public places, while that earlier proposal remained under parliamentary consideration.

The new announcement therefore represents another step in an ongoing Italian debate rather than the beginning of the issue from scratch.

Questions over religious freedom

Any restriction on religious clothing is likely to generate debate about freedom of religion.

Supporters of the measure can argue that schools are places where pupils need to communicate clearly and participate in a shared educational environment.

Opponents may argue that restrictions on religious dress should meet a high legal threshold and should not unnecessarily interfere with individual religious expression.

Italy’s constitutional framework protects freedom of religion, meaning that the eventual legislation will have to operate within existing constitutional and legal requirements.

The parliamentary process will therefore be important.

The precise wording of the measure, its exemptions and the penalties or enforcement mechanisms will determine how it operates in practice.

What happens next?

Meloni has said that the proposed package will be brought before the Council of Ministers.

It will then need to proceed through the legislative process before the measures become permanent law.

Until that process is completed, the proposed school ban should not be described as an existing nationwide ban on burqas or niqabs.

The Government must also provide more information about the proposed limit on foreign students.

No precise classroom percentage has yet been announced.

That leaves several practical questions unanswered.

Would schools be required to refuse new pupils once the limit was reached? Would exceptions apply to particular areas? Would the rule apply equally to children born in Italy who do not have Italian citizenship?

Those questions could significantly affect how the policy works.

A debate about integration

At the heart of Meloni’s announcement is a broader argument about what successful integration should mean.

The Prime Minister’s Government is arguing that integration requires more than simply living in Italy.

It says migrants and their families should acquire the language, understand the country’s institutions and laws, and participate fully in society.

The proposed language requirement for some parents reflects that approach.

The foreign-student cap reflects another element of it: the Government’s belief that schools should be able to maintain an environment in which pupils can learn Italian effectively.

The face-covering proposal adds a further dimension by asserting that schools should be places where faces remain visible and communication is unrestricted.

Whether those measures achieve their stated objectives will ultimately depend on how they are implemented and evaluated.

A major political test

Meloni’s announcement has placed Italy at the centre of Europe’s continuing debate over immigration, integration and religious expression.

The proposed ban on burqas and niqabs in schools is more limited than a nationwide prohibition, but it is nevertheless politically significant.

It comes alongside proposals to limit foreign students per classroom and require Italian-language education for some parents.

Together, the measures represent an attempt by Meloni’s Government to establish clearer expectations for integration within the Italian education system.

The Government’s supporters are likely to present the proposals as measures designed to strengthen integration and protect equality.

Opponents are likely to scrutinise their effects on religious freedom, discrimination and the rights of individual families.

The parliamentary debate will provide an opportunity to examine those competing arguments and determine the final form of the legislation.

For now, Meloni has made her position clear: she wants Italian schools to operate around common language, shared rules and visible communication.

But the announcement is only the beginning of the legislative process.

Whether Italy ultimately adopts the proposed restrictions, how broadly they apply and how they are enforced will depend on the legislation presented to Parliament and the subsequent political and legal debate.

What is already clear is that immigration and integration will remain central issues in Italian politics as the country moves towards its next general election, and Meloni’s latest proposals have ensured that the debate over religious dress, education and national identity will be part of that discussion.