This information is intended to provide the background context of structure and control, within which the curriculum and assessment frameworks are implemented.
National
Education in Italy has traditionally been centrally administered. However, since the end of the 1950s, responsibilities and services have gradually been decentralised; in 1972 many of the State's administrative powers over education were transferred to the local authorities - regions, provinces and communes.13 Education policy, however, remains centralised, and all schools - state, non-state public (e.g. run by cities and communes) or private - must conform to national laws and decrees and regulations if they wish to be legally authorised.20 Teachers are also centrally recruited and paid directly by the State (although they are allocated to schools by the local authority).48
The Ministry of Public Education (MPI) and the Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research are the two government departments responsible for the central administration of the education system. At regional and provincial level, the MPI, which has overall responsibility for pre-school, primary and secondary education, uses peripheral offices, through which it implements centrally-defined political and administrative directives and establishes contact with local authorities in order to harmonise activities and services.20
National Education Council
There is also a National Education Council (Consiglio Nazionale della Pubblica Istruzione), which assists the Minister of Education with the planning and supervision of education policy. It comprises 74 members, almost all of whom are elected from the various categories representing teachers, administrative staff, inspectors, staff from the offices of central and local education authorities, the labour market and universities, and is chaired by the Minister. It elects supervisory committees for technical inspection staff, administrative staff in state schools and institutes, and permanent and supply teaching staff in state upper secondary (and art) schools, and expresses its opinions on the running of educational services, on planning and experimentation, teaching and educational reform and on any other matter for which the law rules its intervention. The National Education Council is elected for a five-year period.20,28
Powers delegated to regions, provinces and communes
Regions
Of the 20 regions in Italy, there are five "special statute regions" (see section 1.1) and 15 "ordinary statute regions". The statutes of the former limit the powers of the State authorities. For example, with regard to the MPI, they allow for regional offices to be set up either to collaborate with the MPI's local offices or to replace them. All regions have their own legislative and administrative responsibilities within the general guidelines set out in State laws. In collaboration with other local authorities, they plan the establishment and construction of new schools or improvements to existing structures and administer funds received from the State for this purpose. They organise medical and psychological support services for students and measures to make it possible for all students to complete compulsory education and, as appropriate, continue their studies. The regions are responsible for vocational education, training and guidance outside upper secondary schools and universities, including the supervision of private activities in these areas. Regions may use the premises and equipment of state schools. Day-to-day management may be delegated to the communes.20
Provinces
The provinces ensure the provision of premises, equipment, services and non-teaching staff to some upper secondary schools: the Liceo scientifico and technical schools.20
Communes
The communes, often representing small residential communities and limited areas, have their own or regionally or provincially delegated responsibilities for the services needed to run schools and ensure that young people can attend compulsory education, upper secondary education or vocational training, whatever their financial or physical circumstances. Support services include free school transport, the organisation of school meals in or out of school (which are free or subsidised, depending on family circumstances), the award of purchase vouchers for textbooks, and financial grants.20
In order to improve the management of services, small communes often join together as consortia or associations of communes.20
Control at school level
Within schools, the School Council is responsible for budgetary matters and for the organisation and planning of non-educational school activities. Within the limits of the budget and law, it deliberates the purchase, renewal and maintenance of school equipment and teaching materials and decides on the use of premises and equipment, on extracurricular and sports activities, on remedial and support courses and on cooperation with other schools. The School Council is made up of representatives elected by teaching and non-teaching staff, parents and, in upper secondary schools, students. The principal or headteacher is an ex-officio member. A chairman is elected from parents' representatives. The School Council also elects its own Executive Board, chaired by the principal or headteacher.20
Headteachers or principals are responsible for representing the school in the outside world and for management, supervision and discipline within the school. They coordinate all school activities and are responsible for compliance with legislative provisions; they implement the decisions of the School Council, organise the school internally, that is to say they organise such items as the school timetable, formation of classes, allocation of teachers, and decide on disciplinary measures for students; and they promote or coordinate training activities for teaching and non-teaching staff. They are also responsible for drawing up administrative documents relating to the pay and career advancement of teaching and non-teaching staff and the granting of leave and the recruitment of temporary teachers for less than one academic year. Headteachers are assisted in their duties by one or more colleagues from the teaching staff depending on the size of the school, and are directly responsible to the provincial Directors of Education.20
Teaching and educational activity is the joint responsibility of the headteacher or principal and the Teachers' Assembly (Collegio dei docenti) and the Interclass Council (Consiglio di interclasse) in primary schools (scuole elementari), or the Class Council (Consiglio di classe) in secondary schools. Schools have teaching and educational autonomy within the limits of the curricula formulated at national level and the regulations issued by central government.20
The Teachers' Assembly is composed of all the permanent and temporary teachers of each primary school group or individual primary or secondary school, and is chaired by the principal or headteacher. It formulates teaching and educational plans for each school year, taking into account specific local requirements, national guidelines and state legislation, and decides on types of interdisciplinary coordination while respecting the freedom of teaching of each teacher. It periodically evaluates teaching to check that it conforms to the planned objectives and proposes improvements when necessary. It also selects textbooks and teaching materials, in consultation with the Interclass Councils and Class Councils, and makes proposals concerning the organisation of the school and in-service teacher training.20
The Class Council which exists in lower and upper secondary education is composed of teachers of the same class and four elected parents' representatives, two of whom are replaced by two students' representatives at upper secondary level. At primary level, the Interclass Council consists of the teachers of all the parallel classes and one elected parent for each class. It also formulates educational and teaching plans for the class, checks the progress of teaching and discipline in the class, organises supplementary and extramural activities and carries out the periodical and final assessment of students (there are no external examinations).20
A law was passed in 1997 further decentralising power to schools.3Although central authorities still determine teachers' working hours and the time to be spent studying (educational activity must take place over five days of the week), schools now have further freedom in respect of the organisation of the school day, timetables, holidays, and the organisation of teaching. Schools implement their own autonomy by re-thinking ways of using teaching staff and how classes are taught.63 More importantly, they may decide to shorten the school week, change the dates and length of school holidays, or decide to stay open longer in the afternoons, to teach subjects such as additional foreign languages or information technology. See section 3.2.2.2.16
In general, with regard to public education, the State is responsible for school funding, but the regions meet some of the operating costs of certain types of schools. The State funds the central and local offices of the Ministry of Public Education (MPI), the salaries and the initial and in-service training of teaching and non-teaching staff in compulsory education and most upper secondary schools (scuole superiori), and the management of schools' teaching materials. Most funds are transferred to the provincial offices of the MPI or to individual schools. The School Council decides on the purchase, renewal and maintenance of school equipment and teaching materials, library endowments and consumer materials for classes. The preliminary budget and final accounts for school expenditure are drawn up by an Executive Board, elected by the School Council and chaired by the headteacher. The school secretary, with clerical assistance, is responsible for accounting matters within the school and is an ex-officio member of the Executive Board.20
Technical schools, along with vocational schools use funds allocated directly by the MPI for necessary expenditure and purchases, investment and the collection of funds needed for operating agricultural schools, laboratories and facilities attached to these schools. They consequently have administrative and teaching autonomy. The School Council and school secretary have additional accounting responsibilities.20
Regions have particular powers as regards school buildings, vocational education, training and guidance, school transport, school meals and the supply of textbooks free of charge, but these powers are usually delegated to the provinces and communes. The provincial authorities cover the costs of building scuole elementari (primary schools), lower secondary schools (scuole medie), and of building the technical schools and Liceo scientifico in their area. The communal authorities cover the building costs of Liceo classico.20
In summary, sources of funding are generally as follows:
In addition, parents cover the following costs:
In line with the extension of the period of compulsory education in Italy from ages 6-14 to 6-15, since the 1999-2000 academic year, the first year of upper secondary education has been compulsory; students have to attend the first year of scuola superiore until they are aged 15+. Consequently, education is state-funded in this first year.40,21
Although publicly-funded nursery education is widespread, this is provided by a variety of agencies: national government (53 per cent of places); local authorities (13 per cent); other public organisations (six per cent) and private organisations (including religious bodies (27 per cent).28
In 1994, 5.3 per cent of the gross national product was spent on education.28
| Phase | Distribution between public and private sectors (1991/92) |
| Pre-school |
91.1 per cent of 3 - 6 year olds attend, divided approximately 50 per cent in private and 50 per cent in state schools. |
| Primary | Very few private primary schools. |
| Lower secondary |
Private schools account for less than 10 per cent of compulsory lower secondary students (age 11-14). |
| Upper secondary |
Most upper secondary schools are state schools; a small number, about nine per cent, are private. |
Source: EURYDICE and CEDEFOP (1995).
In the 1994-95 academic year, the proportion of children attending pre-school education was 96.5 per cent and this continued to be divided approximately 50-50 between state and private schools.25
At all levels of education there are completely private institutions (scuole private) administered by private individuals or bodies corporate, charging fees and issuing qualifications that are not legally recognised. At primary level, their creation requires the authorisation of the Ministry of (Public) Education (MPI); at secondary level they do not require such approval but must comply with public order, hygiene and health regulations.20
There are also officially recognised private schools. At primary level, these are subsidised schools (scuole sussidiate), established after they have the approval of the provincial Director of Education, or state authorised primary schools (scuole parificate), opened only by corporations, associations or organisations on the basis of an agreement with the provincial Director after they have the approval of the MPI. At secondary level, they are legally recognised schools (scuole legalmente riconosciute) or state authorised secondary schools (scuole pareggiate) according to Ministerial Decree. The former may be administered by public bodies or individuals, the latter by non-state or religious public bodies. In all forms of recognised school, the curricula, student assessment and teachers' qualifications must be similar to those in state schools. No fees are charged in recognised schools in the primary sector and, whilst, in secondary education recognised schools do charge fees, they must provide free places to secondary level students receiving local authority scholarships.20
The number of completely private primary schools is very small. There are still a few private lower secondary schools (scuole medie), but these account for less than 10 per cent of students at lower secondary level. Most upper secondary schools are state schools; a small number, about nine per cent, are private.20
Private lower secondary schools charge fees, but must provide free places to lower secondary level students receiving local authority scholarships.26
All establishments providing upper secondary education charge enrolment, tuition, examination and laboratory fees for all years of study except the initial year when students are aged 14-15, see below. However, in accordance with the constitutional "right to study", some students may be exempt from fees (or receive financial support) in all years, on the basis of family income and/or their (achievement in the) assessment at the end of each year. Since the 1999-2000 academic year, when the upper age limit for compulsory education in Italy was raised to 15, the initial year of upper secondary education (for students aged 14-15) has been state-funded.66,21