Overview
- The Council of Ministers on January 12 appointed commissioners for Tuscany, Emilia‑Romagna, Umbria and Sardinia after the regions failed to formalize required school dimensionamento plans.
- Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara says the accorpamenti are a PNRR obligation and warns that noncompliance could put parts of upcoming EU payments and the orderly start of the school year at risk.
- The ministry asserts the step concerns administrative reorganization only, involves no closure of school buildings, and is supported by prior Constitutional Court and administrative court rulings.
- Regional leaders and unions are pursuing legal challenges and disputing the data used, with Tuscany alleging more than 8,000 students were undercounted and FLC CGIL estimating cuts exceeding €5.3 billion.
- Critics caution that merged school autonomies can leave one principal managing multiple sites, particularly in fragile areas such as Sardinia, while the government dismisses warnings of service reductions as political.