A teenage student, angry after having been humiliated by a bully, went to school armed with a knife determined to stab his oppressor and get his revenge, a teacher told The Sunday Times.

Some, as young as 13, were already using drugs or resorting to prostitution

On his way to the post-secondary school the student was given a lift by his former secondary school teacher and, after opening up to him, the young man calmed down and handed over the weapon.

“I spoke to him about the importance of forgiveness... We spoke for a long time and, in the end, he pulled out a knife and asked me to keep it. I was shocked. He said he intended to use it and did not care about going to jail as he had been humiliated,” the teacher recounted to illustrate how problematic students, like the teenage boy, could be reasoned with.

“We need to listen more to these children. We need to unlock their potential,” he said.

The teacher was one of three who spoke to The Sunday Times, on condition of anonymity, to express their concerns.

They said teachers, who faced rude or violent students felt powerless to take disciplinary action as they feared consequences and the education reform was not catering for these “lost children”.

The teachers, who teach in secondary schools, said they lacked a structure that allowed them to discipline rebel students.

They provided examples of situations faced by themselves or colleagues which included students spitting on teachers, throwing stones at their cars, bursting tyres, biting and swearing.

One student locked a teacher in a room, another tried to hurl a table and another pointed a knife at a teacher.

“A boy was about to hit another student with a chisel and the teacher grabbed it and got into trouble... If you let him hurt another child you get into trouble. It you take action and stop him, you get into trouble,” one teacher said, adding that a cardinal rule for teachers was to never touch a student.

Last week, Malta Union of Teachers president Kevin Bonello said teachers would remain without the necessary legal backing to take disciplinary measures against misbehaving children if the new National Curriculum Framework – to come into force next year – failed to address this issue.

Although he did not want to give the impression there was anarchy in schools, disciplinary problems were a reality everywhere, he said yesterday.

The main problem, he said, was a lack of empowerment at school level to take decisions.

When a student misbehaves a teacher has two options – file a report with the headmaster who takes the case to the education authorities or file a police report that may end with the child being charged in the Juvenile Court.

But teachers often feared the multi-pronged repercussions on themselves and the student, the teachers said.

A report could spur the student to seek revenge but, more importantly, teachers were concerned that reporting a student would only start the student’s “criminal career”.

“We don’t want to see them in court... Although we are treated badly by them we don’t have anything against them since we know it is related to their background,” said one of the teachers.

Experience has taught them that these problematic students often have problems at home that can range from neglect to violence. Some as young as 13 were already using drugs or resorting to prostitution.

One teacher said tackling this problem started with recognising the reality of these students and allowing space for alternative education.

All three teachers are concerned that the new draft curriculum stressed on mixed ability classes but ignored the reality that some children needed alternative education if they were to have a decent future.

Such students, from difficult social backgrounds, stubbornly opposed mainstream subjects but often had a knack for hands-on trades.

The new system was not allowing educators to focus on such trades at secondary school level and this was alienating and frustrating students. Since trade schools were closed such trades were only accessible once students left secondary school.

“The institution is top heavy, pressing on the educators as they expect us to solve the problems of situations brought onto us... No matter what happens, we are to blame,” a teacher said.