Italian schoolchildren already have twelve to thirteen weeks of summer vacation. This puts them far ahead in a European comparison. However, there is now discussion about whether the summer vacation should be extended by another three weeks until the beginning of October.
The reasons for this include the high temperatures in the country and an extension of the tourist season. “With this humidity, it is absurd to start classes in mid-September. We need common sense and foresight: the production system must also change as a result of climate change,” says Marcello Pacifico, president of the teachers’ union Anief.
Another teachers’ association even asked pediatricians for advice on whether the start of the 2024/25 school year should be postponed due to the high temperatures.
“High costs for health care”
Parents’ associations point out that closing schools for three months would entail high costs for childcare. These would be passed on entirely to the parents. “No parent has three months’ holiday. The difficulties of combining work and family are simply too great for those who have children,” the report says.
Already 60,000 parents have signed against longer summer holidays. The petition also argues that long holidays would increase inequality. This would also be accompanied by a loss of the ‘cognitive and relational skills’ of children and young people.
Source: Krone
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