Italy’s educational system

Italy’s education system is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Nursery, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school are the several levels of education in Italy. University is normally started after a person reaches the age of 19. The first stage of compulsory education is primary education. Around 2.7 million pupils were enrolled in nearly 17 thousand primary schools in the previous school years. Each class in Italian primary schools has an average of 19 students. Regional disparities are striking: a class in Emilia-Romagna has an average of 20.6, whereas a class in the Aosta Valley has an average of 14.6 students. Such disparities could be explained by factors such as urbanization and rural exodus. The Aosta Valley is indeed a hilly region, whereas Emilia Romagna is one of Italy’s most important industrial centers.