Watch: School Bullies Should Be Given Community Service, Education Minister Proposes
Education Minister Clifton Grima has voiced his opinion that school bullies should be given some kind of community service as punishment but played down calls for it to be criminalised.
Grima was questioned by independent MP Rosianne Cutajar whether Malta should follow in the footsteps of France, which in 2022 criminalised school and university bullying, including cyberbullying.
However, Grima opined that community service is a more suitable punishment.
“Speaking from experience, I believe that while action must be taken against bullying, we must be careful what this action should be,” he said.
“On the one hand, the victim is suffering from bullying but on the other hand, the bully needs help too.”
“Experience has shown me that people learn a lot when they are given community work. Rather than punishing them, I think our education system should assure that bullies are given a lesson in the sense they should be given community work. That way, the community will benefit and the bully will learn that there are consequences for their actions.”
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