The teachers’ union has criticised the authorities’ “ambiguous” new guidelines on mask wearing in schools, saying it is unclear whether students and educators can still be forced to wear them in class.

A new legal notice published yesterday simply states: “The temporary removal of face masks shall be permissible in the following situations: inside schools and other educational institutions.”

This seems to suggest the government and the health authorities wanted to sit on the fence and refrain from taking a position, Malta Union of Teachers head Marco Bonnici told Times of Malta.

Do they have the legal backing to tell the child or the parents to put on the mask?- Marco Bonnici, MUT

“They know of the mixed feedback and how some want the masks and others don’t. So instead of taking a decision, they opted to let the schools decide.

“It is an ambiguous situation because the rules say one thing – that masks can be removed – but some schools might still opt to do things differently,” Bonnici said.

“The issue is, if a school’s management team decides it wants to mandate masks and a child does not want to wear one, what will the teachers do? Do they have the legal backing to tell the child or the parents to put on the mask?

“We don’t agree that the onus has been put on schools. The authorities should be clear on their position and on what is and is not allowed,” Bonnici said.

Not within health authorities' remit

The guidelines, which come into force in the new term next week, formalise comments made last month by Health Minister Chris Fearne and public health chief Charmaine Gauci, when they announced masks will no longer be mandatory in schools.

However, some schools appear reluctant to allow students and children to return to class without face coverings.

Earlier this week, some said they would wait for clear guidelines before taking a decision, especially since it was unclear whether they would be free to make their own rules and impose mask-wearing on students and teachers.

The new guideline does not appear to have settled this difficulty.

Times of Malta is informed the issue is not within the health authorities’ remit: they are only responsible for the drafting of minimum guidelines and cannot dictate whether the schools enforce stricter rules.

We will not get involved if they opt to also implement additional measures- Health source

Health sources said if schools decided to implement additional measures, such as reducing the size of bubbles for instance, or increasing the distance between desks in class, the health authorities do not get into it.

“As long as they follow the mandatory guidelines, that is fine. We will not get involved if they opt to also implement additional measures,” one source explained.

But according to Bonnici, there does not seem to be anything in the law that permits schools to make their own decisions on such matters.

He did note, however, that schools are free to take certain decisions such as when lessons start and what uniform students should wear.

State schools leaving individuals free to decide

In reply to questions from Times of Malta, a ministry spokesperson said: “The Ministry for Education will follow the guidelines as set out by the health authorities in the published document which states that ‘it will no longer be mandatory to wear a mask in schools’.

“However, individuals are free to make their own assessment of risk for themselves and for their children. It is important to note that the relevant legal notice is the law regulating the whole situation.”

A pupil arrives at school wearing a face mask, which have been mandatory until now.

Asked to clarify whether schools will be free to implement mask mandates, the spokesperson said that in State schools, management teams can only recommend the use of masks. Students and educators will therefore still be free to decide whether or not to wear a mask even if the school is in favour of masks being worn.

The spokesperson said Church and independent schools are autonomous and therefore make their own decisions on such issues.

Sources said the Curia left Church school management teams free to choose whether to retain masks or not and a number have already opted to keep them.

Times of Malta is informed that a number of Church schools are in fact expected to inform their staff and students that masks will remain mandatory until the end of the scholastic year in June.

When contacted, a Curia spokesperson said that “Church schools that consider the use of masks as necessary for the well-being of their community and their sustained operation will be notifying parents and staff members accordingly.

“Students and staff in all Church schools are encouraged to wear a mask as provided for in the guidelines. The guidelines still mandate masks on school transport,” the spokesperson said.