Italy has announced plans to ban burqas and niqabs in schools amid calls for tougher immigration measures.

During a recent rally organised by Gioventù Nazionale, the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said a series of measures would soon be introduced, including a ban on burqas and niqabs in schools and a limit on the number of foreign students allowed per classroom.

“It is unacceptable that in an Italian classroom the children who end up feeling pushed into a corner are Italian children because they have become the minority. That cannot be allowed,” stated Ms Meloni. “It also requires parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to learn Italian, and bans burqas and niqabs in schools.”

The development comes as the country prepares for a general election next year amid intensifying competition after retired general Roberto Vannacci entered the race and called for stricter immigration measures.

Several European countries, including France and Belgium, already banned face coverings in public places. Italy’s decision to do the same came after several related initiatives in recent months.

In August, education and merit minister Giuseppe Valditara proposed a ban on full-face veils through an amendment to the security bill.

Mr Vannacci’s party,Italian,also tabled a resolution in July against the full-face veil in the Chamber of Deputies’ Culture Committee, which was approved with centre-right votes after being redrafted at the government’s request.

The position of Italy in the central Mediterranean has exposed it to migrant arrivals, making immigration a highly contentious issue and recurring challenge for successive governments.