The code of discipline of schools will soon be reviewed and updated to better protect students, teachers and parents from bullying and aggression problems, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo announced this morning.

The updated code will be drafted with the help of students themselves as it will clarify both their rights and responsibilities. It will replace the existing code, which was drafted in 2002.

"Children have both rights and responsibilities, and a culture that doesn't emphasize that risks spoiling them," the minister said. The revised codes would likely be more concise and direct, he added.

Mr Bartolo said he was "very concerned" about reports of unacceptable behavior within schools. In some cases, teachers had been sexually harassed by their students or been on the receiving end of foul language from primary-aged school kids.

"I don't want to blow the issue out of proportion or infer that we have a civil war on our hands," the minister cautioned, "but the problem undoubtedly exists".

Resolving it would not be easy, he acknowledged. "As educators, we need to take a look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we're providing students with a stimulating learning environment and making them eager to go to school. But we also need to ensure we have clear limits of behaviour to ensure teachers and school staff are adequately protected."

Malta Union of Teachers president Kevin Bonello said the union was fully supportive of the initiative. He said the MUT had received three complaints from teachers just last week. In one case, an MCAST lecturer had received a death threat. The matter is now with the police.

He also encouraged parents to take the initiative and form their own parents' organisations, something Mr Bartolo also agreed was necessary.