Last month was the month of state exams and diplomas for many students;
a propitious opportunity to pursue some reflections. In 2023, thedossier published by Tuttoscuola caused a stir, highlighting one of the
most disconcerting aspects of the Italian school system: the phenomenon
of so-called "diploma mills." We're talking about numerous private,
state-funded schools that were illegally granting "suspect" diplomas to
over ten thousand students taking the 2022/2023 school-year high school
diploma exams. For last year's high school diploma exams, given the
scandal, Minister of Education and Merit Valditara enacted a measure
against these "diploma mills," aimed at strengthening inspectors'
oversight of the proper processing of procedures in these schools; while
maintaining their full support. The ministry had focused, and continues
to focus, on a strong and reiterated "bad apples" theory, as if fearing
that the facts that emerged could somehow discredit private schools in
general. Thus, alongside oversight, financial "support" was offered,
given the decision to allocate a significant portion of the PNRR funds
to private schools, to "ensure true educational pluralism," as the
minister put it.
In short, after the scandal, it almost seems as if the victims are the
virtuous private schools themselves-the majority, the government
emphasizes-which therefore require additional funding to guarantee their
quality service. But what is this quality service?
Aside from the illegal practices that have been sanctioned and are
subject to sanctions, what are the real prospects for those who enroll
in a private school? And what are the prospects for those who work there
as teachers?
The "Smile Schools"
If you explore the websites and especially the social media pages of
private schools, you'll see a more or less uniform corporate rhetoric,
based on the myth of the school of smiles, of happiness, where students
thrive in a peaceful, family-like environment. It's the rhetoric that
views students-or rather, their parents-as customers, not users. No more
fear of failing! Teachers always available to accommodate students'
needs... in short, paradise. A fee-paying paradise, with fees that-for
high school graduation exams, for example-range between EUR2,500 and
EUR4,500; so you have to be able to afford it.
There's no getting around it: enrolling in a private school is a
solution, especially for those who, after failing a state school,
discover that John Doe or John Doe passed-or obtained a diploma-at one
of these private schools, and, according to them, without doing much at
all. But it would be simplistic to think that the entire population of
private schools fits this stereotype. Indeed, parents often decide to
enroll children with certain educational needs in these institutions,
which are undervalued and/or uncertified, in the hope that such a school
will be more considerate of them; and that they will rediscover their
"smile." This is the flip side of a failure for state schools, which
often leaves less "performing" students behind, where there is no SEN
certification.
A school for all or a "free-for-all"?
And thus another thorny issue arises: the relationship between SEN
students and private schools. These schools have one "merit," which is
that they welcome everyone; after all, all it takes is for parents to pay.
However, it is worth highlighting a paradox in the school of inclusion,
and the distortion that private schools impose on that concept. Public
schools-both state and private-have made great strides in recent years
in supporting, recognizing, and caring for all students with recognized
special educational needs, moving toward inclusive education, beyond
mere mechanical integration, and valuing all students with their unique
characteristics.
However, beyond the good intentions on paper, this is increasingly
turning into a strange form of insidious, self-justifying ghettoization,
where a SEN certification-stripped of its true meaning, namely,
encouraging timely and targeted interventions to protect the most
vulnerable-becomes a "pass" through which teachers and school
administrators can wash their hands of students with default passing
grades, thus avoiding any "hassle" with parents. They forget that
certifications are useful for enhancing each student's personalized
learning journey, providing them with greater attention.
This is even more evident in private schools, where all families,
whether students have special educational needs or not, enroll their
children with the certainty-not even a secret, and indeed encouraged by
industry leaders-that promotion is guaranteed.
One might ask: is it possible to fail a student in a private school?
The answer to the aforementioned question is yes; but you really have to
look for it. Just as already happens in state schools, where exemptions
for absences can be granted, in promoting those who have exceeded the
maximum limit, the abuse of so-called "post-dated medical certificates"
has become widespread. These serve as justifications that families
present at the end of the year to demonstrate their children's medical
problems. Schools clearly must trust the opinion of a specialist, but
there are grey areas and unanswered questions: why does that certificate
often only emerge at the end of the year, when the possibility of
failure becomes concrete?
Then there are the passing grades achieved, as if by magic, in the final
exam; a fact we will return to later, when we shed light on the
situation of teachers in private schools. And, while it's true that
these circumstances are increasingly common even in class councils of
state schools, it's undoubtedly a standard practice in the world of
"make-up years."
In short: how can a student fail a private school? In fact, only in two
cases: 1) if the student exceeds the maximum number of absences without
any certificates; 2) if the student commits extremely serious acts that
force the school's owner to remove the student, even at the cost of
losing their tuition income.
https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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