Amendments to education rules 'not sufficiently child-centred' - Commissioner

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...