University: 18-point difference in enrolment figures depending on whether parents have a degree or not

One year after leaving school, 84 per cent of those with at least one parent who holds a degree are enrolled at university, compared with 66 per cent of those from families where neither parent has a degree. This 18-percentage-point gap demonstrates the extent to which family background continues to influence educational opportunities and university choices.

To help bridge this gap, the five higher education institutions in the Merita network – Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Scuola Normale Superiore, Collegio Superiore of the University of Bologna, the Galilean School of Advanced Studies at the University of Padua and the School of Advanced Studies at Sapienza University of Rome – have signed a new agreement with Bocconi University. The aim is to ensure the continuity and expand the scope of MeMo – Merit and Social Mobility, the guidance programme aimed at students whose parents do not hold a university degree.

The agreement was formalised during the conference marking the final day of Merita, which took place on Thursday 24 September at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. The founding principles are those enshrined in Article 34 of the Constitution, which states that ‘those who are capable and deserving, even if lacking in means, have the right to attain the highest levels of education’. These resources are not merely financial: information, networks, role models and familiarity with the university world can have a profound impact on the possibility of envisaging university as a genuinely accessible option.

For the Minister for Universities, Anna Maria Bernini, ‘the true right to education means giving everyone the chance to become the best version of themselves, regardless of their initial economic circumstances. Today, we are not merely bringing to a close a project that has involved more than 4,000 students and has enabled us to build a network capable of making high-quality education more accessible. We are embarking on a new phase of MeMo, in which we are transforming the experience we have gained into a stable, nationwide model’.

During the conference, the book *Merit and Social Mobility: Career Guidance as a Lever for Equity* (Pacini Editore), edited by Professor Sabina Nuti and Sara Barsanti, coordinator of the Merita project, was presented.