School attendance will remain obligatory during the new term despite the new wave of COVID-19, the education ministry has confirmed.

The new term starts on Friday with online lessons. Students will return to their desks on Monday.

Children will not be allowed to miss school unless they have a valid medical reason backed by a doctor’s certificate. Parents who do not send their children to school face a fine for every day missed.

“School attendance is obligatory as this is a crucial part of their educational experience,” an education ministry spokesperson said, when contacted ahead of the new term.

After the first wave of the pandemic hit almost two years ago, school attendance during the 2020/2021 scholastic year was not mandatory, with parents and guardians free to decide whether or not their children would attend school.

As a result, absenteeism soared as school attendance rates dropped from 90 per cent to 75 per cent.  

But ahead of the 2021/2022 school year, and as most teachers and a good proportion of students were vaccinated, the controversial policy was reversed and attendance again became mandatory.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson also confirmed that plans to reopen schools on Monday were still in place, a decision also confirmed by the teachers’ union.

The education authorities, together with unions and school representatives, had announced the Monday opening on New Year’s Eve.

“The health authorities will continue monitoring the situation on a daily basis in order to ensure the highest level of safety for our students and educational community,” the spokesperson said.

An exercise by Times of Malta carried out recently found that some 15 per cent of those with COVID-19 are under 19 but there has been no spike in children with the virus admitted to hospital. This has been attributed to the high uptake of the vaccine.