A-Infos (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria #462 - USAI 2 - The Paradise of Private "Paritarie" Schools (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

What prospects for the students? ---- Boys and girls who enroll in 
private paritarie schools experience an immediate sense of relief: a 
much more relaxed environment, lighter or even absent workloads, and the 
perception that they will certainly be promoted... it's obvious they 
feel they have shaken off some problems. But once they leave this 
"protected" environment-whose main imperative is to push them through at 
all costs, especially for the sake of the tuition fees-what impact might 
they face? Yes, they will obtain a diploma legally recognized by the 
state, but what real skills-a term so often abused today-will they have 
gained?

Over time, many of them realize that, while they hold that piece of 
paper, it has been emptied of its truest meaning: a path of growth and 
learning. They understand, in the end, that the state school, despite 
its undeniable flaws, was perhaps not so bad after all.

How is it possible that these students pass the same high school 
graduation exam as those in public schools, given such conditions? To 
answer, we must start with the fact that everyone-students, teachers, 
and school owners-knows there will be trouble if a Ministry inspector 
shows up during the exam. In reality, such inspections are still rare or 
nonexistent, despite the government's much-vaunted measures. In any 
case, all efforts aim to carry the process to completion without 
"shocks." The exam chairperson and appointed external members often 
cooperate with the internal board to support the students as much as 
possible, showing great "generosity" in grading. But what's the point? 
The real question is: what sense would it make to suddenly block them at 
the finish line, after having brought them this far unchallenged, with 
the clear intent of getting them through? It's rare, therefore, for 
anyone to push back.

What prospects for the teachers?

Amidst all this chaos, there's a lack of analysis of one essential 
protagonist in the school system: the teachers of private paritarie.

First of all, they are not recruited through the official public 
rankings used for state schools. This already raises questions about 
what "parity" actually means compared to the public system. Instead, 
it's the school owner-or their HR manager-who screens resumes, conducts 
job interviews, and hires based purely on discretionary criteria. In 
short, no public ranking applies; the private school simply checks that 
the teacher meets minimum entry requirements.

Equally "non-paritary" is the way contracts are handled: at best, a 
fixed-term contract is signed until June 30 under a coordinated 
collaboration scheme, with pay "per presence," no paid vacation or sick 
leave, and an average net hourly wage of EUR10. A striking case was the 
Covid period, when many teachers stayed home and simply received no pay 
for their sick days. In worse cases, "payment" comes only as points for 
the provincial teaching rankings. Italy already ranks at the bottom for 
public teacher pay; here it's even worse. In upper secondary schools, 
the maximum workload is 18 weekly hours, which at best means around 
EUR800 per month. And often this is not reached, because many private 
schools have few classes, especially in low-hour subjects.

Given such contracts, one wonders what meaning "parity" has if the 
school owners themselves indirectly signal that their service is low 
quality. There's no other way to explain such an extreme disparity with 
public contracts.

And the actual teaching activity? In today's precarious Italian school 
system, a contract in a private school is often one of the few ways 
young teachers can earn ranking points and gain experience. School 
owners know this and exploit it. What appears as an opportunity becomes 
an employment blackmail: the employer leverages the supposed "privilege" 
of helping the teacher accumulate points for public hiring, making them 
more willing to accept poor conditions in the hope of a better future.

When, during a job interview, one is told: "At this school we don't like 
bad grades," the message is very clear.

If there's anything truly "paritary" between these schools and public 
ones, it's the burden of responsibility placed on teachers. In fact, 
private schools may demand even more: beyond the usual teaching duties, 
there's the task of safeguarding the school's brand as a business. Here 
lies one of the greatest distortions: students are "customers"-or more 
accurately, parents as customers-who must be kept satisfied to ensure 
profit. Teachers are not free: no matter their passion or innovative 
strategies, they must conform to business goals, clientelism, and the 
implicit message that "your child will advance because you're paying." 
Why resist? Thus, everyone is promoted; grades are deliberately inflated 
to allow progression, exam admission, and graduation. This once again 
shows the need to rethink evaluation, to end the "hegemony of grades" 
and put students' learning journeys back at the center.

When, as often happens, teachers face unmanageable classes with many 
behavioral issues, we must remember: the fault does not lie with the 
students but with a leadership incapable of building a functional school 
system and fair laws to prevent such inequalities. "Paritarie" schools? 
Hardly.

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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