School buildings across Italy: where are the greatest needs? | CDP

School buildings across Italy: where are the greatest needs?

In what condition are the buildings that house our public schools? What are the most common problems? And how much does the NRP allocate to the upgrading and safety of these buildings? These are the questions at the heart of the new CDP Think Tank brief.

The report looks at the structural condition of Italian schools, focusing in particular on whether they have heating systems, measures to overcome architectural barriers, measures to reduce energy consumption and earthquake-proof design.

Read the key messages and download the report for further information.

  • The NRP allocates €5.4 billion to school construction, of which: 3.9 billion is to redevelop the building stock, 0.8 billion to build new schools and 0.7 billion to upgrade canteens and gyms. These amounts will be added to the extensive amount of work carried out in recent years, with more €10 billion allocated over the period 2013-2018 (more than the cumulative total for the previous 20 years).
  • Environmental sustainability, safety and structural adequacy of school buildings help to combat early school leaving and ensure quality education, which are key factors in developing human capital and reducing social and economic inequalities.
  • The report investigated four areas (architectural barriers, energy consumption, heating and earthquake-proof design) of the current school infrastructure provision, revealing that
    1. on average, individual Italian school buildings only met sufficient standards in one of the four areas.
    2. Moreover, 15% of buildings are lacking in at least two out of four areas.
    3. The most critical problems are concentrated in the south of Italy and concern the lack of measures to reduce energy consumption.
    4. The situation is particularly acute in Calabria and Sicily, where the 32 school buildings with structural deficiencies in all four areas are to be found.
    5. As a rule, buildings in more suburban areas and in municipalities with a more precarious financial situation are more prone to weaknesses.
  • Future projects should take four factors into account:
    • the reduction of the school population
    • the evolution of educational needs
    • environmental sustainability
    • the need to redress social and geographical disparities.
Read the brief (Available in Italian)
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