Education Minister urges parents to realise need for discipline in schools

Discipline in schools is very important and parents need to understand this and follow it up with their good example, Education Minister Dolores Cristina insisted yesterday.

She was speaking during a visit to the Naxxar Boy's Secondary School where a series of acts of bullying and violence against teachers was reported recently.

Ms Cristina explained that she was visiting as part of familiarisation tours to various schools but also because it was considered to be a vulnerable school with students having behavioural problems. In an attempt to tackle these problems, there was an ongoing pilot project at the school where, last week, a prefect of discipline was appointed with the aim to focus on the school's needs and establish the best plan forward.

She added that calls for applications were being prepared to recruit prefects of discipline in the various colleges.

The Malta Union of Teachers said last week that the post of prefect at the Naxxar school was no more than an "ad hoc arrangement". It complained that calls for applications for the post had not been issued.

The new post of college prefect of discipline was created in the reform agreement signed by the MUT and the government in July 2007. The responsibility included the coordination of activities, policies and procedures related to the promotion and encouragement of good behaviour and discipline in the college schools.

"I believe that the prefects of discipline make a big difference in our schools as we have to determine what is causing children to act the way they do," Ms Cristina said, adding that one had to look beyond the children's school life in order to help those children whose behaviour stemmed from problems at home.

She stressed on the importance of discipline in schools, adding that parents should discuss any problems regarding the child with the school head. "Schools are there for everyone to give a good example and it was not acceptable to have adults act violent in schools... Violence in schools is unacceptable," she said, irrespective of whether it was children on children or if it involved parents or teachers.

Ms Cristina added that she understood that teachers might want protection and, while an element of security had to be ensured, this had to be done through communication that would also help to better understand the needs of particular schools.