Updated at 12.16pm with University of Malta statement. 

Some 36,000 students are back in school as all classes have now resumed, the Education Ministry said on Monday.  

In a statement, the ministry said that now that kindergarten students had started class, the total complement of students in school across the country this scholastic year stands at around 36,000. 

After all government school students were back in class last Wednesday, on Monday kindergarten students became the last tranche to return to school.  

How many children are in school in Malta?

This year there are 5,981 attending kindergarten, 15,827 in primary schools, 12,143 in secondary schools, and 1,987 in post-secondary.

The ministry said that this year there were more primary school classes than in previous years, because there was a higher registration of students. 

Students are spread across 106 schools and educational centres, with a total of 7,071 heads of school, educators, learning support educators, kindergarten educators, and administrative staff.  

“With all the protocols issued by the health authorities now in place, and all schools certified by assessors, we are now seeing the determination of educators to have students back in class where they belong,” Education Minister Justyne Caruana said.  

The return to school has not been an easy one with the ministry locking horns with the teachers' union in recent days.

The ministry last week took to the courts to stop industrial action by educators over the deployment of teachers.

A snapshot of schools across the country

In another statement, the National Statistics Office gave an overview of students and schools across the country last year.   

The majority of students enrolled in pre-primary, primary and secondary education during the 2019-2020 academic year, were male, at 52 per cent.

During the 2019-2020 academic year, 46 per cent of the enrolled students were aged between five and 10, followed by the 11-15-year-old age bracket, at 37 per cent.

State-run institutions accounted for 59 per cent of total enrolments. This was followed by church schools at 28 per cent, while students enrolled in independent schools accounted for 14 per cent of total enrolments. 

Total students enrolled in mandatory education during 2019-2020 stood at 48,465. 

Of these, 55.8 per cent attended primary school, while the remaining 44.2 per cent attended secondary school. 

When compared to the 2018-2019 academic year, students increased by 0.9 per cent and by 1.7 per cent in primary and secondary schools respectively. 

The average class size for all schools at the primary level was 19 students per class, and 19 students per class at the secondary level. 

Class size was lowest in state schools, while church schools held the highest average class size, particularly at ‘Year 4’ level with 25 students per class. 

The northern harbour district had the highest proportion of students at 33 per cent, followed by the southern harbour district (19.2 per cent) .

During 2019-2020, foreign students accounted for 14 per cent of the total enrolled from pre-primary to secondary education.

Foreign students at these levels increased by 12.6 per cent over the 2018-2019  academic year. 

The majority of foreign students (59 per cent) were non-EU nationals.

The most popular foreign language (excluding the official languages) studied at secondary level was Italian, followed by French, German and Spanish.  

Back to University, with new courses 

In another statement on Monday, the University of Malta said it started its new academic year, with over 4,000 new students joining.

The total number of students at the University of Malta for academic year 2021-2022 is 11,850. They will be following a total of 930 courses.

Over 2,670 new students will be following undergraduate courses, while some 1,350 students will be reading for postgraduate degrees, the university said.

A further 960 new students will be joining Junior College, to bring the total number of students there to 1,945.

An opening ceremony was held at the University on Monday with rector Alfred Vella addressing students present at Sir Temi Zammit Hall as well as all those following remotely via a live-stream of the event.

His address was followed by a speech delivered by KSU President, Neil Zahra.

New courses and areas of study for this year include a master of arts in archives and records management, master of science in digital health,  and a diploma in the archival and cultural appreciation of ecclesiastical patrimony.