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Only 15% of children whose parents do not have a high school diploma go on to university: OCSE data and the response of the MEMO project of the MERITA Network

Publication date: 15.09.2025
Memo SSSA 2025
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According to the latest OCSE report, Education at a Glance 2025 (September 9, 2025), intergenerational educational mobility remains limited in all countries: young adults (aged 25-34) are significantly more likely to obtain a university degree if their parents have also done so.

In Italy, 63% of young adults with at least one parent who is a university graduate also complete a university degree, compared to just 15% of those whose parents did not complete upper secondary school. Education, therefore, continues to be passed down from generation to generation: those born into less educated families still face significant barriers in accessing educational opportunities.

However, a very encouraging finding emerges from the MEMO – Merito e Mobilità Sociale (Merit and Social Mobility) project, aimed at students from families with no university background and selected solely on the basis of academic merit: 90% of the young people participating in the orientation program choose to enroll in university. This percentage is therefore significantly higher than the OCSE average.


MEMO: the response of the MERITA Network

In 2025, thanks to the joint efforts of the five universities of the MERITA Network (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore, Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori dell'Università di Padova, Collegio Superiore dell'Università di Bologna, and Scuola Superiore di Studi Avanzati Sapienza dell'Università di Roma), funded by the PNRR, the MEMO project saw the participation of over 600 students in their penultimate year of high school, all with parents who did not have a university degree. They have just completed residential meetings at partner institutions, intensive training and discussion sessions designed to strengthen skills, aspirations, and opportunities.

The joint statement by the five MERITA University Schools

"OECD data show that Italy still has a long way to go to ensure equal opportunities for young people, regardless of their family background. With the MEMO - Merit and Social Mobility project, the MERITA Network University Schools have chosen to work together to offer concrete guidance and growth paths to deserving students from families with no university background.

The result of 90% of participants enrolling in university confirms that we are on the right track. However, in order to transform MEMO from an experimental project into a stable and widespread system, the joint commitment of all institutions is necessary. In particular, we would like to thank the Ministry of Education and Merit, with which we have a memorandum of understanding, and the Ministry of University and Research, which has made PNRR resources available to finance the MERITA Network. Their support has been decisive in this start-up and expansion phase. It is now essential to continue working together to make social mobility a permanent priority for the country.