Italy: Egyptian teen to attend school, no place for migrants

Sarour is an Egyptian teen who is about to turn 14 and has travelled to Italy on his own. He is currently part of Sai Gea, a hosting program in Rome for asylum seekers and individuals granted international protection. Since the start of the academic year, organizers have been trying to enroll him in school, but no place has been found for him yet.

“The boy has lost two months of lessons” and has not been allowed to “learn the Italian language, socialize with other kids, and integrate in our country”, Paola Piva told ANSA.

Piva is the coordinator of Scuolemigranti, a network of 90 associations that work to teach Italian as a second language.

“For the past two months, a right, as well as a duty, for all kids between the ages of six and 16 have been denied,” she noted.

Since the beginning of September, the association has tried to enroll Sarour in a number of high schools in Rome, including the Regina Elena, Settembrini, Montessori-M.C. Pini, Winkelmann, Sinopoli-Ferrini, Manin. No institute has accepted the request.

On September 29, said Piva, an email was sent to the regional school office which took action and requested his enrolment at the Regina Elena school, which said — after a long series of phone calls and emails — that it did not have a vacant place.

The request for help was reiterated by regular and certified email — so far to no avail.

In three years, Scuolemigranti has followed and succeeded in enrolling in school 530 foreign teens who, without their support, would have probably been unable to study.

“It’s not possible for this issue to depend on volunteer work,” denounced Paola Piva.

“The phenomenon is becoming unmanageable in Rome, especially with the arrival of teens who need to attend middle and high school.”

Since September 1, 73 new students were initially denied a place in school and were able to find a spot thanks to volunteers and, in some cases, the support of the regional school office.

At the beginning of the school year, the director general of the school office of the Lazio region around Rome, Anna Paola Sabatini, urged schools to welcome new students, “including during the year”, to guarantee the “right/duty to education” also to foreign minors. However, the problem has clearly not been solved yet.