2 min.
Unlike other European countries that have “eliminated illiteracy centuries ago,” Italy still presents a “schooling deficit” that “weighs on the future of students and school in general.” This is the situation described by linguist Tullio De Mauro at the presentation of the Cei Report and Proposal on Education held at Montecitorio (Italian Parliament).
In the fifties, “illiteracy in Italy concerned one third of the population, while two thirds of Italians did not use the national language.” Therefore, De Mauro points out, “the comparison between Italian and foreign schools is faulty” as it omits the “contribution made by public and state schools to linguistic unification.”
According to recent data, “only 20% of the adult population [in Italy] has the tools necessary to orient itself in society and the cultural level of the adult population is strictly correlated to the scholastic level of its children.”
Moreover, Istat surveys indicate that “80% of Italian families never turn to books or newspapers. Parents are barely able to help their children in elementary school and are completely helpless during the subsequent scholastic cycles.” This does not even take into consideration the “cases of regression into illiteracy,” the speaker pointed out, confirming and welcoming the urgent call by Cei to face the “educational challenge.”
Source: agenzia Sir
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