More art, computers, work-study under Renzi school reforms

Govt to use EU funds, woo private sector to bankroll programs

(ANSA) - Rome, September 3 - The government's school reform plan unveiled Wednesday would entail far-reaching changes for students as well as staff.

The novelties begin in primary school, where kids would get musical and physical education classes, while mandatory foreign-language classes would begin in elementary school, and high schoolers would see beefed-up art history, computer science, and economics courses. As well, the government would introduce mandatory work-study programs in technical institutes, upping the budget for such programs from 11 million euros this year to 100 million euros going forward. Another innovation will be apprenticeships in traditional crafts that are at risk of being forgotten, and the roll-out of an experimental internship program in the last two years of high school.

The package would partially rely on some 800 million euros in European funds for the 2014-2020 period, but the government also plans to woo the private sector. Measures would include school bonuses for businesses and foundations, a so-called School Guarantee program for firms that headhunt in technical institutes, and a crowd-funding program, with the State to match every euro donated by a private citizen to the public school system.