A video clip widely circulated online recently shows a male middle school student surrounded and attacked by a group of men in an open-air toilet, which triggered heated  discussion online.

The victim was kicked and had his head banged into the toilet, little more than a pit, by the men, staining his face with blood according to a report by The Beijing News .

In recent years, similar campus violence, or cases of bullying have frequently been reported across China, which has caused quite a stir among educational circles and other social ranks.

What's up with current middle school students fighting one another like sworn enemies nowadays? Can we do something to avoid this phenomenon and build a solid relationship between students?

One thing is certain: Nowadays a lot of middle school students lack awareness of basic self-defense, which is also being ignored by Chinese families and school authorities. "All occupations are base, only book-learning is exalted." This attitude toward learning permeates the whole fiber of Chinese thought, or Chinese education circles at least.

Awareness of self-defense, which is hugely important to a person's growth in his or her school days, can also help people adapt themselves to complicated society.

In my opinion, school authorities should strengthen education in self-defense among middle school students. For example, self-defense skills should be taught in school to ensure that students know how to protect themselves when confronted with immediate dangers. Parents should also encourage their kids to talk more about their problems in school.

To a certain extent, school teachers should be blamed for school violence. Verbal violence is prevalent among middle schools in China. Poor students are often discriminated against on campus and even get labeled as "stupid" or "useless." Sometimes, bad students are criticized in the presence of their classmates. It is no exaggeration to say that perpetrators of school violence are often students who were ridiculed in the past.

A teaching job makes great demands on nervous energy and a teacher is usually required to take in stride countless irritations.

But I do not think that is a justifiable excuse to neglect bad students or discriminate against them. Compared to minors, teachers ought to have more self-control.

In my mind, school teachers ought to show more concern for their students' psychological health and should use refined words with their students, especially those who are struggling educationally.

Schools should put more security guards around campus or in the vicinity of school campuses where gang fights occur, as more men are apparently needed to stop these fights.

Campus violence cases seem to be on the rise across the country in recent years and joint efforts are needed to address the issue properly, or who dares to say that our kids may not fall victim to campus violence in future?

Lin Maoxian, a foreign salesperson with a Shenzhen-based import and export company