ROME DISMISSES EUROPEAN COMISSION CONCERNS OVER LIMIT ON FOREIGN STUDENTS

ROME, NOVEMBER 4 /SRNA/ – The Italian government rejected criticism from the European Commission over a decree limiting the number of foreign pupils in classrooms.

The government recently adopted a law capping the share of pupils with limited knowledge of Italian at 30 percent per class.

The European Commission criticized the new law, saying it might be discriminatory.

EU Social Rights Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu said the EU treaties prohibit any form of discrimination on grounds of nationality, whether direct or indirect.

"The European Commission is closely following developments in the legislation. Under EU law, discrimination on grounds of nationality is allowed only under the exceptions set out in the treaties, for example on grounds of public order, security or health," she said.

The Italian authorities were quick to push back against possible interference from Brussels.

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said there was nothing wrong with the law and that the government would press ahead with implementing it without hesitation.

He stressed that education was not an exclusive competence of the EU and that the law was designed to help integration, not to discriminate.

He pointed out that in most European countries newly arrived migrant children are placed in separate classes to encourage integration.