Children's attendance at school should remain compulsory and only those classified as vulnerable should be exempt from physically attending class, the Office of the Commissioner for Children has said.

Commissioner Pauline Miceli said that exemptions should be made on a case-by-case basis following professional advice - a position that mirrors the plan authorities presented last week.

If school attendance did not remain compulsory, children living in vulnerable situations, particularly those who were regularly absent from school prior to the pandemic, would continue to fall through the net, her office warned. 

"We must also keep in mind those children for whom attending school is a ‘safe haven’," Miceli said. 

School attendance, the office said, was even more crucial with research showing that children with a stronger sense of school belonging did better at school and had higher life satisfaction.

This could be seen in UNICEF’s Innocenti Report Card 16 Worlds of Influence, Understanding What Shapes Child Well-being in Rich Countries, according to which Malta ranked low overall with regards to life satisfaction. 

The commissioner's emphasis on compulsory school attendance comes weeks ahead of the start of a new scholastic year.

Authorities have said schools will reopen with a number of COVID-19 mitigation measures in place, including rules on wearing masks, distances between desks and how to create "bubbles" of students to restrict social interaction. 

The guidelines, released last week, also recommend alternative teaching arrangements to be established on a case-by-case basis for students deemed at risk.