On the initiative of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, the Council of Ministers adopted a Prime Minister’s Decree thanks to which school staff serving abroad can opt for a single continuous period of nine years of service abroad, in both Italian and European schools.
Deputy Prime Minister Tajani said it is “a result made possible by the teamwork of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education and Merit”, adding that the new rule “meets a specific request from Italian families attending European schools”.
Until now, in fact, the length of service abroad was set mandatorily at two six-year periods over the entire career, separated by at least six years of service in the national territory.
Besides ensuring greater teaching continuity for the benefit of the pupils of European schools, this reform also redresses an unequal treatment between Italian teachers in the European school system and teachers from other EU countries, whose term of service is set at nine years.
