Citizenship, 1 million students of foreign origin return to class, 65.4% were born in Italy, but 58.7% of second generation think of living elsewhere

ROMA – “The current citizenship law, thirty years old, no longer captures the country we encounter every time we enter a classroom,” says Raffaela Milano, research director of Save the Children – For years, together with many civic organizations, we have been asking Parliament to review this law to give full citizenship to boys and girls who are born or arrive as children in our country. In a delicate season like that of growth, citizenship is essential to strengthen the sense of belonging to the community in which one grows up and to push forward aspirations for the future. This reform – added Milano – is an opportunity that our country cannot miss and for this reason Save the Children launched already a year ago a petition for citizenship”.

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Over the years, school has become the main meeting place for students from different backgrounds and, although often with few resources, today it represents the main training ground for citizenship. According to the latest data made available by theStatistics Office of the Ministry of Education and Meritin schools there are 914,860 with non-Italian citizenship: they are 11.2% of the school population. Only 15.5% of Italian schools do not record the presence of students of foreign origin.

Who are the students of foreign origin in Italian schools? 65.4% of them are boys, girls and adolescents born in Italy. In Veneto and Umbria the percentage of those born in our country is the highest, reaching 71.2% and 69.9% respectively. Among children in nursery schools, however, the percentage reaches 81%. More than two hundred countries of origin: Romania in the lead, followed by Albania, Morocco, China, Ukraine. 44.4% of students with non-Italian citizenship are of European origin.

A non-homogeneous presence of foreign minors. It is concentrated in the Northern regions (65.2%), followed by the Centre (23.3%) and the South (11.5%). In absolute terms, Lombardy has the highest number of students with non-Italian citizenship (231,819), while in percentage terms it is Emilia Romagna. to record the highest value on the total number of students (18.4%). Also in percentage terms, the provinces where the highest value of students of foreign origin is recorded are those of Prato (28%), Piacenza (25.2%) and Parma (21.3%).

The education rate. As regards the school attendance rate of students with non-Italian citizenship, this does not differ from that of students of Italian origin in the central years of the school career. A deviation is noted, however, in nursery school (attended by only 84.1% of children with non-Italian citizenship compared to 95% of Italian children) and in the last two years of the secondary school career, when a worrying figure is recorded regarding the early abandonment of studies by 17-18 year olds: more than a quarter of students of foreign origin do not complete their higher education course (school attendance rate of students of foreign origin 74.8% compared to 81.6% of Italian students).

The level of academic performance. Even in terms of performance and school delays, elements of inequality are found, also due, in many cases, to the economic condition of families of foreign origin. The incidence of absolute poverty of families with minors composed only of foreigners reaches, in fact, 36.1%, compared to 7.8% of Italian families.

The negative effects of non-citizenship. In a delicate phase such as growth, for girls and boys born or arriving in Italy at a very young age, the lack of citizenship not only has negative practical effects – for example, with regard to trips or educational stays abroad, cultural exchanges and sports competitions – but also consequences in the maturation of the sense of belonging to the community in which one lives.

The survey on a sample of 15-16 year olds. A recent survey conducted by Save the Children on a representative sample of 15-16 year olds living in Italy, regarding their aspirations and expectations for the future, finds that, if the aspiration to move abroad is shared by a significant number of adolescents of Italian origin (34.9%), the percentage of second-generation boys and girls who think of a future outside Italy reaches 58.7%. Even among first-generation migrant minors, a good portion aspire to move abroad but in a lower percentage (42%), perhaps because they are still tied to the hope of being able to realize their dreams in Italy. This is a particularly worrying fact for a country like ours that is going through a very serious demographic crisis.

The study of cultural pluralism. Signs of discomfort are also detected by a study carried out by Save the Children in 2023 on cultural pluralism in Italian schools, conducted among 6 thousand students aged 10-17 who attend primary and secondary schools in five Italian cities (Catania, Milan, Naples, Rome and Turin). The study shows, among other things, that students without Italian citizenship feel more than their peers a sense of estrangement from the school community. For example, when asked “Do you feel part of your school?” 17.9% of students with a migrant background without Italian citizenship say they never or almost never feel part of it. This percentage drops to 13.8% of students with a migrant background and with Italian citizenship and to 10.6% for peers with both Italian parents.

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