STEM graduates: 6.7% in Italy, 13% in Europe. “The school is failing on scientific preparation”

“The Italian school is failing its task in providing the appropriate knowledge and skills in the scientific field to a very significant part of the students”. And especially the students. It is they “who suffer the most from the gap in scientific and technological skills, a gap that begins very early, already in elementary school, and then drags on throughout the subsequent studies”. In fact, although women represent more than half of graduates (58.7%), in 2020 only 18.9% graduated in scientific subjects, against 39.2% of men. And the country where this “suffering” is greatest is Italy. These are the considerations that Andrea Gavostodirector of the Agnelli Foundation, spoke at the annual conference of the Italian Association for Industrial Research (Airi), which this year focused on the gap between training offer and industrial demand.

The scarce scientific knowledge transmitted by the school right from the start then affects the choice of young people to choose technical-scientific courses at university. “Italy continues to lag behind in the number of graduates, in particular for STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics): we have an average of 6.7% of graduates in technical-scientific subjects against a European average of 12 -13%”, recalls Gavosto. And yet, says the director of the Agnelli Foundation, “companies are increasingly asking for transversal skills, such as the ability to organize and work independently, which the school system is not equipped to provide”.

Going into the details of scientific skills, “in Italy 51% of graduates do not reach the minimum threshold on mathematics skills”, Gavosto continues, “In some regions of the South the percentage even rises to 70%, a terrifying figure”.

“The interesting study of the Agnelli Foundation on scientific competences – declared the undersecretary to the Mur, Augusta Montaruli – confirms the need for support for STEM subjects, a provision dedicated to their strengthening is envisaged in the budget law”. As the Minister of University and Research underlined, Anna Maria Berniniduring the inauguration of the academic year of the Milan Polytechnic, the 500 million euros dedicated to scholarships for the years 2024 and 2025, which were included in the latest budget law, are going in this direction: “We managed to stabilize the scholarships obtained by the former minister with 250 million euros Maria Christina Mass“, has explained.

According to the minister Joseph Vallettara “the level of skills that is not always adequate and the very small number of students, especially female students, who choose scientific, engineering and mathematical disciplines, are not motivated by the alleged lack of talent or personal merit. Rather, it is a matter of inadequate encounters orientation, i.e. an inadequate orientation of students with these disciplines”.

In the text of the Maneuver in the chapter dedicated to the School, guidelines are introduced for the implementation of STEM disciplines in all schools without however adding new resources. The funds are those already allocated by the ministry and the Pnrr. In particular, it is envisaged to “define guidelines by 30 June 2023 for the introduction of the training offer into the plan” starting from kindergarten (0-6) and up to high school “actions dedicated to strengthening the development of mathematical-scientific-technological skills; to carry out “awareness-raising actions for families for Women in Science Day to encourage participation in STEM study paths”; and to create “networks of schools and educational alliances for the promotion of the study of STEM subjects”.