Cesena, July 15, 2026 – “I want to clarify immediately that the statement “Italy for Italians” is not only not censurable but is certainly shareable as it includes all the citizens of our country.” This is clear from the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara, responding to the Chamber about the results of the inspection by the Regional School Office at the Monti high school. The investigation started after the decisions of the class council of the high school regarding the conduct of two students who displayed a banner with the writing, as mentioned, “Italy for Italians.”
“It is a phrase, moreover, repeatedly used by the political movements that make up the current Government – specifies the minister –. The inspection is still ongoing and, as soon as the related results are known, a complete evaluation of the event will be possible. In this regard, given that there is no ministerial power over the evaluative process of the individual Class Council, I specify that the investigation aims to clarify the relationship between the violation of school rules and the content of the assignment given to the students: that is, whether the Class Council, in assigning a study on the racial laws and the essay “we are the Africans”, was in any way influenced by the incident in question and the banner displayed.”
Valditara: “The student statute itself establishes that a student cannot be sanctioned for their political thought”
If as a result of the inspection “a connection should emerge between the content of the critical paper and the expression used on the banner, and not with the violation of school conduct rules, it would certainly be a serious episode, contrary to the professional ethics of teachers,” continues Valditara. “I recall that the behavior reform I wanted provides that disciplinary measures have an educational purpose and aim to strengthen the sense of responsibility and restore correct relationships within the school community; therefore, in no case can the free expression of opinions that do not conflict with the freedoms of others be sanctioned.”
According to the minister, finally, it is “the Statute of Students itself that establishes that a student cannot be sanctioned for their political thought – concludes Valditara -. Moreover, we have issued a very clear circular that encourages stimulating critical thinking, pluralism of ideas, debate, and combating all forms of indoctrination, starting from the premise that the great mission of the school is to educate to be free: from any subjection to people, fashions, or ideologies.”
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The episode in June after the end of school
At the end of the school year, some students of the Monti High School in Cesena hung outside a school window the now famous banner with the words “Italy for Italians”. They were given a conduct grade of six and the obligation to write a report, before the final exams, focused on the meaning of the gesture they made. The study was on the racial laws and the essay “we are the Africans.”
Already last June on the case of the classic ‘Vincenzo Monti’, where two graduating students were sanctioned with a 6 in conduct and the writing of a reparatory thesis, Valditara intervened: “I preface that the minister has no power to intervene on the decisions of the class council, so mine is a personal evaluation. One must ask what the motivation for this sanction is. Was a 6 in conduct given for having posted a banner in violation of the institute’s rules, or to stigmatize the content of the poster?”
