The government has vowed to crack down on bullying in schools amid public outrage over the death of a brilliant student who was beaten by his schoolmates, reports said today.

Newly appointed Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was quoted by The Star as saying that a hotline would be set up to attend to any reports by victims of school bullies.

"I am disappointed that this social ill still exists in schools. What is even more disappointing is the fact that it happened in a religious school," he said.

"I want gangsterism among students to be contained and eliminated at its root immediately."

Fourteen boys at a top religious school in southern Seremban state have been arrested for allegedly beating Mohamad Faris Ibrahim , 16, to death because they were jealous of him, local media reported yesterday.

Mohamad Faris ( left ), who had complained of constant bullying since he joined the school two months ago, was found sprawled in a toilet at the hostel Sunday afternoon, bleeding profusely from head injuries and died shortly after being admitted to hospital.

Police have classified the case as murder and the 14 Form Five students, aged about 17, have been remanded in custody for four days for questioning.

The New Straits Times said the victim's father planned to sue the school and the state Islamic affairs department.

System failure

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang welcomed the ministry's prompt response but said the measures were insufficient.

There had been more than 35 cases of school crime and violence involving student injuries and deaths in the past five years, marking the failure of the national education system and a serious breakdown of discipline, social and moral values, he said in a statement.

Lim proposed that schools with record of student violence and crime be publicised in a national blacklist in efforts to restore a crime-free environment in all schools. - AFP