7. The education of children in Fascist Italy
When Mussolini was appointed as prime minister by King Victor Emmanuel III he took over a government which presided over a nation exhibiting an alarmingly high state of illiteracy and a poorly run educational system. The Fascists took over the education of Italian children in 1922, and immediately enacted a law which dictated the age at which a child could quit school was 14, raising it from the age of 12. The state strictly enforced truancy laws; absenteeism was not tolerated. From the beginning, education under the Fascist government stressed Italian fascist beliefs and the duty of obedience to authority. In 1929 the government assumed control of all textbooks used in Italian classrooms, including those of the Roman Catholic Church.
Teachers at the secondary school level were required to take an oath of loyalty to Mussolini and the Fascist party. Students at all levels were indoctrinated into Italian citizenship by being taught that the state deserved the same level of loyalty as was given to God. By 1933 all members of the faculties of universities and colleges were required to be active Fascist party members, and the party began monitoring classes, teaching materials, student’s notes, and tests. The history of Italy was presented through party-approved materials which stressed the glory of Rome, and the consolidation of the various Italian principalities and states during the nineteenth century. Mussolini also required physical education and fitness training to be part of the educational system, which was further supported by after-school programs throughout Italy.