Cap. 327 Art. 135Power to make regulations.

The Minister may, subject to the provisions of this Act, make regulations to give effect to any of the provisions of this Act, or to regulate or otherwise provide about any thing in respect of the functions and the activities which affect education according to this Act, and may in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, make regulations for any of the following purposes:

(a) subject to the provisions of the Constitution or of any other law which may be applicable, provide for any matter as may be necessary, including advertisements, the process of applications, selection boards, interviews, examinations, the assessment and evaluation of candidates, publication of results, connected with the process of appointment or promotion or assignment of position to any officer and employee of an entity, and to acquire such necessary data for the records of the staff of the entities;

(b) to provide for the appointment, conditions of employment, duties and powers of teachers, officers and employees of the entities, and also of officers and employees of a Department or other agency who may have functions by any other law which regard the health and the treatment of children and students, including provisions to empower each one of such officers to visit children at their homes and to examine them or to make other investigations: Provided that in regulations relating to officers and employees of a Department or agency falling under the responsibility of another Minister, the Minister shall make such regulations with the approval of such other Minister;

(c) to better provide for the duties and functions of Heads, officers and employees and for the assignment of duties in a place or an entity according to their grade or position and for their transfer from one place to another within an entity;

(d) to require the parents to give to the Minister, the Directors General, and to each Director, Principal, Head of school, officer or employee of any entity, as duly authorised by the Minister or by the Directors General, or by a Principal such data about their children as is necessary for the due performance of the functions and the duties of each entity and its officers, including such data as may be specified in the regulations;

(e) to establish, communicate and require the execution of a National Curriculum Framework of studies subject to the specific religious nature of any school;

(f) to establish the qualifications of professional persons, officers and other employees of the entities and schools, the curricula, terms, school days and times, students’ uniforms, parents’ days, the national minimum conditions of schools, and any other matter connected with or incidental to the implementation of the functions or to the operation and administration of entities and of State schools and to the discipline to be kept thereat;

(g) to prescribe such data, reports and statement of accounts which have to be sent to the Minister or to the Directors General by the Principals, Heads of schools and such other officers and persons relating to education as the Minister may deem necessary to request, and in such manner, in such form, time and on such subjects as he may specify in the regulations;

(h) to establish any fee and payment which may be due by or under this Act, or for the services given in compliance with the provisions of this Act;

(i) to give direction for the better practice of any profession related to education, including initial training and continuous professional development of officials and employees of entities and to establish benchmarks, standards and assures quality, including internal quality assurance and external auditing processes, in institutions, schools and educational entities;

(j) to provide about any form or procedure which may be required or expedient and about which there would be no specific procedure in this Act;

(k) to establish rules by means of which the Government may ratify and give effect to international conventions relating to education and which has already been ratified by the Government of Malta or in order to achieve compliance with every international obligation pertaining to the Government of Malta or with European Union Directives on any matter or field concerning education and training;

(l) to establish, unless otherwise provided in this Act or in any other law, a statute and rules to regulate the mission, scope, functions, powers and duties, financial accountability or otherwise, and any other procedure which has to be followed, performed and observed by any entity, Committee or Council established by or under this Act;

(m) to afford, subject also to the provisions of any other law, to a person aggrieved by the decision of any entity, agency, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the University, or any body or organisation established under this Act, means and procedures either to lodge its complaints and aggravation about a decision or to contest or appeal from such a decision and to be so satisfied if its aggravation is upheld;

(n) to regulate the meetings of any entity, board, or committee, including procedures relating to a quorum, making decisions by means of voting, keeping of minutes and any other matter ancillary thereto;

(o) to provide on any incidental or supplementary matter, including the power of entry and inspection of any premises or place where instruction and teaching take place or may take place in accordance with this Act, as the Minister may deem expedient for the enforcement of any provision of this Act and regulations made thereunder or to give greater effect thereto;

(p) to establish anything which is due to be or may be established under this Act and to provide on any other matter as may be deemed to be appropriate;

(q) to establish the fines for any contravention or breach of any provision of regulations made under this Act, or for non-compliance with any provision or any requirement imposed under such provision: Provided that regulations made under this article may provide differently for different aims or circumstances, for different classes or kinds of schools, and for different classes of children;

(r) to bring into force the provisions of the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Act and all regulations made thereunder, on the mutual recognition of qualifications of a teacher;

(s) to better regulate the operation and the provision of services in the Colleges and schools, including all matters concerning personnel, equipment, building, management, the use of school premises after normal school hours, partnerships between Colleges and State schools, and non-State schools and international exchanges, and participation in EU programmes;

(t) to provide processes of licensing, accreditation, quality assurance and recognition;

(u) to provide processes for the validation of informal and non-formal learning with the aim of such validation to be classified at a level of the Malta Qualifications Framework;

(v) to provide for any matter relating to the teaching of English as a foreign language;

(w) to regulate access to and gathering of information, statistics and data by the National Commission for Further and Higher Education and the Secretariat of the same Commission, that are both established by articles 64 and 70 respectively;

(x) to extend the functions of the National Commission for Further and Higher Education as provided under article 65(o);

(y) to provide for the establishment and description, from time to time, of the Malta Qualifications Framework as defined in article 63; and

(z) to establish administrative fines not exceeding a penalty of four thousand euro (€4,000) to which any person, school, provider or body corporate contravening any regulations made under this Act may become liable: Provided that -

(i) the Minister may by regulations designate which competent authority shall be responsible for imposing and enforcing such administrative fines with respect to the regulations concerned;

(ii) when any administrative fine imposed under this paragraph becomes final, it shall constitute an executive title for the effects and purposes of