Oppositions and unions go on the attack regarding staff cuts in schools. The Five Star Movement speaks of "absolute shame". "You can't believe it. Seeing that in the maneuver Giorgia Meloni cuts 7 thousand positions in the public school workforce, including teachers and ATA staff, all after having already cut another 7 thousand in the last maneuver, is appalling", states the M5S group leader in the Senate Luca Pirondini who adds: "It means making fun once again of the school world which yesterday took to the streets peacefully to ask for more public schools". The comment from five-star senator Barbara Floridia was also harsh: "More than a transitional measure as Giuseppe Valditara said at the time. This time too the government lied. It is a scandal of enormous proportions in the face of which the students' protests are not only legitimate, they are sacrosanct. The world of education does not deserve this humiliation, the responsibility for which rests entirely on Meloni's shoulders."
Along the same lines is the criticism of the Democratic Party which accuses the government of "making money" on public schools. "If we also consider the ax of the 2025 budget law, we are talking about 15 thousand places gone: a very hard blow. It means less school time especially for the most vulnerable children or in the most difficult areas. It means secretaries or institutes in difficulty", attacks the deputy Anna Ascani. And Irene Manzi, national school manager for the Dem, adds: "Two years ago the ministry reassured us by talking about a 'transitional measure'. Today we discover that the transitional measure has become structural and that the cut is doubled. It is the confirmation of what we have been denouncing for some time: for this government, the school is not an investment, but an ATM from which to withdraw with every budget law".
"It's the budget for the rich: the Meloni government with the maneuver it has presented generously gives money to the war and cuts our country's public schools. With 7 thousand fewer places, 5 thousand teachers and 2 thousand Ata the signal is very clear while more permanent teachers would be needed", says Giuseppe Buondonno school manager of the Italian Left.
Criticism also rains down from the unions with the CISL expressing "clear opposition to any hypothesis of cutting the school's staff and asking for its withdrawal". Faced with the hardship of the new generations, educational poverty and the growing difficulties of school work, investments and personnel are needed, starting with teachers and Ata and certainly not cuts", underlines in a note the general secretary Daniela Fumarola who then asks the government for a discussion on the topic: "Education is a strategic priority for the country: reducing its resources means weakening the rights of young people, social cohesion and development prospects. The CISL's availability for dialogue requires concrete responses: if the cuts are confirmed, we will support all the necessary initiatives to mobilize the category".
From the left he attacks Rifondazione Comunista which brands the school cuts as a failure to respond to the demonstrations of October 30th. "Greater investments in schools was one of the demands that resonated the loudest. The response that the government gives to all this is disheartening", says Salvatore Romeo, head of the Prc School, in a note.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini intervenes on the controversy that erupted over school cuts, defending the "miracles" achieved in recent years by his colleague Giuseppe Valditara, but open to changes: "If there were any variations and improvements, Parliament is there for that purpose".
