Italian debate heats up: Calls to delay school reopening meet resistance

In an official petition addressed to Minister Giuseppe Valditara, teachers argue that the school calendar should be changed due to climate changes and the current severe heat in Italy. The petition has been issued to avoid potential fainting and other health problems affecting students and teachers due to high temperatures.

With this heat it is absurd to start lessons by mid-September, preferably October. It takes common sense and foresight. Production cycles must also change and the public administration must initiate these changes according to the climate, said Marcello Pacifico, president of the National Association of Teachers and Educators.

The initiators of the appeal have also turned to Italian paediatric and educator associations, asking for scientific opinions regarding the validity of their proposal. Meanwhile, the Ansa agency notes that parent associations also believe extending the holidays is unacceptable.

Parents argue that three months of holidays, from the beginning of June to the first half of September, are long enough, and the costs are borne by families. They emphasize that reconciling work obligations with caring for young children during this period is challenging.

The very long school break multiplies inequalities, favors the loss of cognitive and relational skills of girls, boys and adolescents and discourages work-life conciliation for many parents forced to juggle very expensive summer camps and lack of alternatives at reduced prices, reads the petition.

The school year will start in Bolzano, northern Italy, on 5th September at the earliest. Lessons will also begin in other regions of the country in the following days.