These two objectives are not in conflict, provided the public sphere seeks to create equal opportunities and chooses operational options that allow the market to play a part in selecting excellence. Scholastic success depends significantly on the conditions of pupils’ families. From this point of view Italy appears to be socially almost immobile.
The probability of earning a degree depends on the quality of the preceding education, but if this is sometimes inadequate, as in Italy today, the family’s socio-economic background plays a major role.