Italy considers ‘bridge classes’ for immigrant children

Presented as a way of enhancing the integration of young immigrants, the scheme was strongly criticised in Italy for being potentially discriminatory. Meanwhile, the EU’s newly-adopted Immigration Pact came under fire for lacking clear guidelines on integration.

The controversial Italian initiative, which passed a first vote in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday (14 October), envisages the creation of special classes for foreign pupils who do not speak Italian. 

Children with a foreign passport would have to pass a special test to be admitted into schools, with intensive language classes for those who fail. Citizenship classes may also feature. 

The measure was tabled by Roberto Cota, leader of the Northern League party in the chamber. The party, often described as populist and xenophobic, presented the initiative as a step towards guaranteeing equal opportunities for foreign students and facilitating integration. 

But the scheme rapidly drew criticism from across the political spectrum. Walter Veltroni, the Social Democrat opposition leader, said the proposal was “intolerable”. Even right-wing MPs Alessandra Mussolini and Souad Sbai asked for “an urgent meeting with Education Minister Gelmini to discuss the proposal”. 

Luciano Scagliotti, coordinator for the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) in Italy, expressed outrage over the proposed “bridge classes”. “To my knowledge, a comparable provision could only be found in apartheid South Africa,” he told EURACTIV. 

The dispute came as EU leaders adopted a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum during a summit in Brussels (EURACTIV 15/10/08). The Pact, which was officially endorsed at the summit on 16 October, came under fire from anti-discrimination NGOs for focusing too much on countering illegal migration and lacking clear guidelines on measures to integrate migrants and refugees. 

The initial draft, put forward by French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux, had suggested introducing “integration contracts” for migrants, but the proposal was dropped during negotiations to gain the support of the Socialist-led Spanish government. 

However, this left a void in the final text, which now only includes a vaguely-worded paragraph calling on EU countries “to promote the harmonious integration […] of immigrants who are likely to settle permanently”. 

According to Luciano Scagliotti, the Pact’s weak provisions on integration should now compel EU institutions to closely monitor the application of the Anti-discrimination Directive, presented in July (EURACTIV 03/07/08). 

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