Amendments to education rules, set to be introduced next month, are “not sufficiently child-centred”, the Commissioner for Children has warned.
In a statement on Monday, the Office of the Commissioner for Children, Pauline Miceli, said it is concerned that the proposed revision of the Education Act is not based on children’s rights and therefore is not sufficiently child-centred.
“The best interests of the child should be paramount throughout the whole act,” the statement reads.
Changes to Malta’s education laws, first written in 1988, have been in the works for several years and the new rules are set to be implemented by October.
The Commissioner for Children welcomed the announcement that the revised law is set to come into force next month, saying it is an important step forward in Malta’s implementation of children’s fundamental right to education.
The new law proposes the extension of the right to education to all children of compulsory school age residing in Malta, irrespective of their status.
The reform also touches upon the duty of the State to ensure the availability of early childhood education and care centres and stricter enforcement of school registration and attendance.
Law should apply to all educational insititutions
However, the commissioner said the law should apply to all educational institutions whether State, Church or independent, and not be limited to public schools.
Despite the ongoing experience of a pandemic that has severely disrupted the education of children, the reform does not provide a legal framework to ensure that all children continue to enjoy their right to education, the statement reads.
“Such a framework should also provide guarantees in terms of the provision and quality of alternative educational arrangements that should be in place in the event of full or partial school closures as also outlined by young people themselves.”
The pandemic, the commissioner said, has shown that remote learning is possible.
The authorities should therefore should make it possible for children who are not able to attend school physically to continue to receive high quality education by making lessons accessible remotely.
The commissioner also lamented how the separation of powers between the provision of education and the regulatory and enforcement roles of educational authorities had been withdrawn after it was first proposed back in 2018.
This, the statement said, is disappointing in view of Malta’s poor outcomes in education despite all efforts made to achieve better results.
“Students do not need more education, but better education,” the commissioner said.
The office then pointed towards its position paper on the revised Education Act, and called for it to be discussed in parliament.