Protests are building across Italy against proposed government reforms, which could radically transform the primary, secondary and higher education sectors. Students, teachers and university professors have occupied learning institutions and held demonstrations and impromptu lessons in streets and squares across the country in opposition to proposals made by the controversial education minister Maria Stella Gemini, some of which are already before parliament. Proposed changes include a return to a single-teacher system for most subjects in primary schools, the reintroduction of grades for conduct, substantial financial cuts to the university sector and provisions for higher learning institutions to become foundations in order to receive private funding.

Towns and cities involved in the protests include Milan, Florence, Bari, Turin, Naples, Bologna and Rome, where students at the city