Former Education Minister Terry Lister has called for tougher discipline in schools, telling MPs that "leadership" is needed in the classroom.

The Government backbencher told the House of Assembly on Friday that in all the recent talk about reforming the public school system he had heard little about discipline — yet lack of it had much to do with escalating youth violence and "lawlessness".

Mr. Lister said he remembered how certain teachers maintained strict order when he was a student at the Berkeley Institute and said more of that approach was needed in 2010.

"We have become a matriarchal society for whatever reasons," he said during the motion to adjourn. "We end up in a scenario where the role and the growth process for boys is all over the place."

He said little boys should not be termed the "man of the house" by their mothers and should be allowed to be children.

And he said parents needed to set rules and boundaries almost from the moment their child was brought home from hospital.

He said Government was taking the problem of gang and gun clashes seriously but couldn't be wholly responsible for solving the problem. "Parents have a huge role," he added.

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said he was heartened to hear Mr. Lister's comments and urged Bermuda to look to other successful school systems for some of the answers.

He said many charter schools in the US got the discipline balance right. "They have worked out a way to impose discipline which doesn't necessarily involve beating a child to within an inch of its life," he said.

Dr. Gibbons cited the KIP (Knowledge is Power) programme as one that the Island could learn much from.

And he said preschool was key to setting a child on the right path for life.

The UBP MP said it needed to be "more than just child minding" and should focus on preparing students properly for primary school.

l More from the House of Assembly, Pages 6 & 7