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EDUCATION

Italian teachers start school term with strike

Primary teachers across Italy went on strike on Monday, the first day back after Christmas holidays, in protest at a change to hiring rules that could put thousands of contracts at risk.

Published: 8 January 2018 17:21 CET
Italian teachers start school term with strike
Photo: ChiccoDodiFC/Depositphotos

Up to 20,000 infant and junior school teachers were expected to take part in the one-day strike, according to unions.

Protests were held outside the Ministry of Education in Rome, as well as regional headquarters in Turin, Milan, Bologna and other cities.

Some schools let out early due to staff shortages while a few remained closed altogether. In Genoa, some children joined teachers on the streets, holding placards that read: “Hands off my teacher”.

Unions called the strike in response to a ruling last month by the Council of State, Italy’s highest administrative court, which declared that teachers with a training college diploma – as opposed to the university degree now required to join the profession – are not eligible for permanent contracts in public schools.

Italian primary schools are allowed to employ people with old-style teacher training diplomas on temporary, fixed-term contracts to fill gaps in their rosters. After three years of service on this basis teachers are supposed to have the right to a permanent position – but to claim it, they have to be on an official register of qualified reserve teachers. The Council of State’s ruling definitely excludes them from that register.

The decision means that some 6,000 teachers already hired risk losing their permanent contracts and being forced back into substitute work, unions warn. It will also result in more than 40,000 diploma holders being struck off the reserve list.

While opponents claim that experienced teachers are being exploited, some argue that the ruling will open opportunities for younger recruits in a profession where competition for permanent contracts is fierce.

The Ministry of Education has asked advice from the government’s legal service and will seek “balanced solutions for the different interests and situations in play”, said Education Minister Valeria Fedeli. The priority is to ensure “educational continuity in this school year”, she said. 

SCHOOLS

Back to school in Italy: how much will it cost, and how can you save money?

With children in Italy returning to school in September, families have begun stocking up on essential supplies. But new figures reveal they may have to shell out more this year.

Published: 1 September 2022 13:14 CEST
Updated: 27 August 2024 08:11 CEST
Back to school in Italy: how much will it cost, and how can you save money?

As the summer holidays draw to a close, kids in Italy are preparing to file back into the classroom for the start of the 2024/2025 school year.

This year, back-to-school dates will range from September 5th to September 16th, with children in the northern Bolzano province set to be the first back in front of the blackboard.

As kids around the country enjoy the last days of their summer break, families have already started the annual rush to stock up on school essentials. 

But the purchase of supplies and textbooks may deal many households a harder blow this year.

According to estimates from Italian consumer association Codacons, school supplies (backpacks, notebooks, pencil cases, stationery, etc.) may cost up to 15 percent more compared to last year, while textbooks will be nearly five percent pricier on average against 2023.

So how much should Italian families prepare to shell out?

According to Codacons, expenses for school supplies alone may amount to a whopping 600 euros per schoolchild. 

As usual, the most expensive item on the back-to-school list is the backpack, with the price of some brand-name articles exceeding 200 euros.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Italian schools need to make parents’ lives easier, not harder

But significant expenses are also required for pencil cases or pouches (some items may go for as much as 60 or 70 euros), school diaries (up to 35 euros for the most sought-after brands) and technical items (i.e., set squares and triangles, compasses, goniometers, etc.).

On top of school supplies, most families will also have to pay for textbooks. 

While elementary school textbooks are supplied free of charge across the country, costs for middle school (scuola media) and high school (scuola superiore) textbooks generally range between 300 and 700 euros, with prices varying depending on the year and school.

All in all then, Codacons estimates that the purchase of school supplies and textbooks may set Italian families back some 1,300 euros per schoolchild this year. 

READ ALSO: OPINION: Are Italy’s international schools really ‘international’?

But as price hikes give rise to justified concern among parents, consumer groups have already offered families some useful advice on how to save up on both supplies and textbooks.

School supplies in Italy

Italian consumer groups have advised families to avoid branded items when it comes to purchasing school supplies. Photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP

How to save money on school supplies

  • Avoid branded items. Children are easily influenced by TV and/or online ads and might push to get the most popular and fashionable articles on the market. However, off-brand items generally have the same features and durability as their more well-known counterparts and might go for 40 percent less.
  • Buy from a local supermarket rather than a stationery shop. At this time of the year, many supermarket chains offer very favourable deals on school kits, with prices being sometimes 30 percent lower than in specialist shops.
  • Don’t buy everything at once. Any item that is not immediately necessary can be bought at a later stage.
  • Wait for teachers’ guidelines, especially when it comes to buying material for art or geometry classes. Knowing exactly what items are required will save you from spending money on wrong or unnecessary articles.

How to save money on textbooks

  • Buy second-hand textbooks. Purchasing libri usati might allow you to save up to 50 percent on school books. However, it’s usually best to check the state of the items – especially their exercise pages – prior to buying. Also, keep in mind that past editions might no longer be accepted.
  • Shop online or in supermarkets. Some supermarkets and online marketplaces sell textbooks at favourable prices, with discounts usually ranging between 10 and 20 percent.
  • Buy digital textbooks. Again, not all schools allow this but in some institutes families have the option to buy the required set of textbooks in digital form. Children can then access the books via a pc, tablet or e-reader.
  • Loan textbooks directly from the school. Not all institutes do this but some allow for various forms of comodato d’uso whereby families can loan textbooks for the entire length of the school year and then return them when classes end in June.
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