Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday (September 20, 2026) she’ll soon introduce a measure to her government that would cap the number of foreign students in classrooms and ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools.
“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 to a standing ovation at the Gioventù Nazionale national festival in Rome. “It is the only serious way to welcome them.”
Ms. Meloni, who has political roots in the far-right, has consistently been hawkish on migration. But she has evolved politically over her tenure as Prime Minister, shifting from a nationalist outlier to an establishment figure among European Union politicians. Meloni’s conservative administration became Italy’s longest-serving uninterrupted government since World War II.
Once approved by the government, the measure would need parliamentary approval within 60 days to pass into law. Earlier reporting noted: Once approved by the government, the new measure would need parliamentary approval within 60 days to pass into law.
Earlier reporting noted: ‘You must go to school with your face uncovered’: What Meloni said on ban ‘You must go to school with your face uncovered’: What Meloni said on ban
Earlier this month, Ms. Earlier reporting noted: Italy’s Meloni announces plan to ban burqa, niqab in schools; cap on foreign students Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday said her government was planning to introduce a measure which would ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools, and cap the number of foreign students in classrooms.
