Valditara: 100,000 enrolled in 4+2 within five years

"In some regions, particularly in the south (Calabria and Campania above all), the 4+2 reform has seen a real boom in enrolments, which bodes well for an increase in the Its, given the connection of the sector. We expect, within five years, if enrolments proceed at this rate, to reach a total of around 100,000 enrolments in the four-year '4+2' system". This was stated by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara on the initiatives aimed at strengthening the role of the Its academies, through a balanced territorial distribution and alignment with the needs of the production sectors, a question posed by MEP Rosaria Tassinari (FI-PPE). More than 21,000 students will attend four-year courses in September.

The 4+2, which aims to structurally strengthen the connection between education, training and work, has promoted the establishment of campuses of the technological-professional chain, understood as integrated networks of technical institutes, professional institutes, Its Academy and regional vocational training centres, aimed at creating systems of excellence consistent with the development needs of the territory's productive fabric. Within the campuses, of course, there will also be companies. For the construction of these campuses, 35 million euro have been allocated by the Ministry, in addition to 124 million to strengthen the schools' laboratories and a further 210 million, identified within the 2021-2027 National Programme.

The numbers on the 4+2 are also bound to have an impact on the '+2', i.e. the Its Academies, which have achieved, a year ahead of schedule, the Pnrr objectives and are increasingly consolidating. The number of students enrolled in the Higher Technological Institutes has already risen from around 11,000 in 2020 to 40,854 today, against a target (set with the EU) of 22,000. First-year enrolments, 17,135 in 2023/2024, have also risen to 20,484 in 2024/2025 and 21,326 in 2025/2026, thus confirming a general trend of constant and structural growth. Thanks to the 'one-off' funds of the NRP (EUR 1.5 billion, all allocated), 1,422 training courses and 18,491 orientation activities were activated with the involvement of more than 126,000 students, 4,470 scholarships were awarded and 1,662 workshops were held.

"The Its Academies," Valditara explained, "have become a particularly important educational innovation laboratory. The Its Academy network sees a prevalence of collaboration with businesses and business associations, which together account for more than half of the partnership: precisely 52.1% of Its Academy partners. As far as teaching is concerned, moreover, 72% of the teachers come from the world of business and the professions. The success of this approach is also confirmed by real and incontrovertible data with an employment rate that continues to be above 80%. Future projections show that the current number of over 40,000 enrolled students is destined to increase precisely because of the 'push' of the '4+2' reform.