Both girls and boys are now forbidden from going to school with earrings or piercings, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said on Monday. 

Mr Bartolo said that the ban is effective immediately and is being implemented for health and safety reasons, not due to gender equality concerns. 

Times of Malta last week reported that a school in Gozo was forbidding boys from wearing their studs to school, while allowing girls to do so. 

The issue prompted a complaint by the parents of a 12-year-old boy at the school, who said that the school’s policy was discriminatory. 

Education Minister Mr Bartolo had contacted the parents and told them that policies were “being updated”.

On Monday, the minister said that earrings and studs were now banned across the board – but that the decision had nothing to do with equality concerns.

“Gender equality is not achieved through earrings or studs. It’s achieved through mutual respect and we are working to have inclusive schools,” he told TVM.