The Evolution of the Demand for Post-Compulsory Education in the Urban Area of Milan: Perspectives and Problems

Abstract

A few clarifications are necessary for non-Italian readers. In Italy there are four administrative levels: the state, the regions ( 19), the provinces (90) and the communes. The large urban areas don't have specific administrative structures. In some cases sub-communities within cities (quarter councils) were created and larger groupings of urban and ex-urban areas (districts) have also been formed. In Milan's case there are 20 quarter councils, and the suburban areas form, together with the commune of Milan, the Milanese district which could be called 'Greater Milan'. Nevertheless these structures have not been legally described. Legislation is under discussion in the Parliament, but it is difficult to foresee when it will become active. The school system is run directly by the state, through the Minister of Public Education and at the provincial level through its local departments (the I)irectors of Education). The communes and the provinces have only subordinate responsibilities (construction and maintenance of buildings, non-teaching personnel, etc.). The constitution gives to the regions, however, responsibility for the vocational training system which they run directly or by delegating certain duties to the communes and the provinces. This situation makes it difficult to analyse the evolution of the educational system at the large urban areas in isolation. In fact, part of the official data is available at the commune level, and the other half at the provincial level. Therefore in most cases I will be forced to develop observations based on analogical reasoning. In this article I will examine the consequences of three events on the demand for post-compulsory education in the urban area of Milan: the population growth, the transformation of the city's economy and the consequential trend of the labour market, the lack of the upper-secondary school reform. Where possible and necessary these observations will be extended to the Milanese district.