Italy considers extending summer vacation

For twelve to 13 weeks Summer vacation Students and teachers become Italy They are envied throughout Europe. In European comparison, they are in first place.

Given that high temperatures Some associations in Italy are now demanding this. Summer vacation extended for another three weeks until the beginning of OctoberThis also aims to extend the tourist season.

“With this humidity, it is not reasonable to start school in mid-September,” he explained. Marcelo Pacificothe head of the teachers' union, is violent. “We need common sense and insight: the production system must also change in the face of climate change.”

Another teachers' association, the Teachers' Coordination for Human Rights, sent a letter to the Pediatricians' Syndicate asking for scientific advice to determine whether the start of the 2024/2025 school year should be postponed in light of the rising temperatures.

Avoid health problems

Meanwhile, the association called on the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara To study the possibility of changing the school calendar “to avoid possible diseases, in light of the high temperatures, both among students with health problems and among teachers, whose average age, according to statistics, is often high.”

The association's president wrote: “We see it necessary to return to the subject in order to find appropriate solutions at the appropriate time.” Romano Pesavento.

In contrast, several parents' associations point out that the three-month closure of schools from the beginning of June to the beginning of September is too long. “The high costs of childcare in the summer are passed on entirely to families. No parent gets three months' leave. The difficulties of balancing work and family are simply too great for those with children,” they said in a petition from parents. It has already collected 60,000 signatures.

“Long vacations increase inequality, promote the loss of cognitive and relational skills among girls, boys and adolescents, and make it difficult for many parents to combine work and family,” the petition said.