Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has called for an increase in the number of African students studying in Italy. He is proposing that foreign minors who complete their education in Italy should be offered citizenship. However, the idea faces opposition from right-wing coalition parties.
Currently, most international students in Italy come from European countries, with Africa ranking third. Despite a recent increase in international students, Italy still trails behind other EU countries, hosting only 25,000 students on study permits in 2022 compared to Germany’s 70,000.
Italy has seen a rise in international students since 2017, with a record 83,000 students in the 2022/23 academic year. Romanian students make up the largest group, followed by Albanian students. Cameroon has one of the lowest representations, with just over 2,000 students.
Former Education Minister Francesco Profumo emphasized the need for a balanced approach, encouraging more educated students while also promoting positive feedback for students to return to their home countries and improve quality of life. “We need a kind of balance, we need more educated students, but in the meantime, we don’t have to be too jealous. Europe needs to establish a standard model to really understand what we can do to attract more students while also giving them positive feedback to go back to their home countries because improving the quality of life there is the best investment they can give,” Profumo said at a panel about international students’ impact to the economy of host countries at the NAFSA conference 2024.
Minister Tajani’s proposal aims to attract more international students and promote cultural exchange, but its implementation remains uncertain due to political opposition.
