Published in Ekchhin, July 2008

Post Conflict Education for Peace

A small village school in a communal conflict-hit neighbourhood tries out an internationally acclaimed life-skills education programme. As in other parts of the world where this conflict minimisation teaching has been used, the results are overwhelmingly positive.

Karina Kleivan, Development Worker

01. August 2008

“All children should have this subject, even older ones. Everybody can learn from this!” says grade two student Ujeli Damai, 12 years old, with conviction in her evaluation of the MS Nepal supported conflict resolution initiative. She is complemented by class mate Fatima Kathun, 10 years old, “Also adults! They should also learn all that we have learnt”.                               

We are in the heartland of the Terai district of Kapilvastu in Magarghatta village with a mere population of approximately 300. The flat agricultural landscape is scattered with scorched houses that stand as poignant reminders of the communal violence that took place in September 2007, the fourth time in recent history.

The physical wounds are slowly being healed through rebuilding of houses. But as in all communal conflicts, the psychological torment and distrust linger on. However, on the educational front, a movement is under way to invest in a more peaceful future. 

The local NGO Siddhartha Social Development Centre (SSDC), MS Nepal, Save the Children US, the District Education Office and 12 local schools have collaborated for introducing an internationally recognised peace education programme in Kapilvastu, shortly after the conflict had subdued.  

12 years old second grader Saddam Hussein is one of the participants of the Peace Education class. He says, “I liked the class. We learnt about the different festivals, Dashain, Tihar and Eid and what the different groups do and believe. I think that is good; we live together; we should know about each other's festivals”.

The programme, which began in 1996, has been developed by various UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNESCO and UNHCR. Initially, it was aimed at refugees and returnees. However, recently it has been expanded to cater for the needs of emergency and reconstruction situations with the aim of providing life skills related to conflict minimisation and prevention of aggression. It has been evaluated and readjusted repeatedly and is culturally adapted to suit the local context, in this case, a Nepali village. 

Head teacher Tara Chandra Pandey of Magarghatta’s local school, Nepal Tara Primary School, shares his impressions of this pedagogical initiative: “Attendance was very high, much higher than usual. Even dropouts returned to attend the Peace Education. We were surprised. The games and the playful approach attracted them. This type of teaching also gave the pupils a chance to speak more. What we can see now is that the children have become better at playing together as a group. They have become much more familiar with each other and in a caring way”.

More play less violence

Methodologically, the programme is very much learner-centred. It uses exploratory methods (songs, games and stories: ‘what happens when..?’) and the emphasis is upon co-operation, communication, creative self-expression, shared decision-making, empathy and not the least, giving children personal conflict resolution skills. 

Second grader Laxman Rokaha Magar, nine years old, describes the impact, “Before we fought a lot. But after this class we have started to play together and talk more with each other. We have also started to share more, food for example”.

An important part of the programme is the initial teacher training stressing the importance of ‘constructive classroom management’, where the focus is on participatory methods and where corporal punishment is a no-no.

The creators of the programme explicitly express the hope that the pedagogy employed as well as the culture of non-violence will have a spin-off effect upon all teaching. The first tender experience in Nepal Tara Primary School seems to confirm this. “There has been a positive effect upon other subjects as well. Previously if the pupils hadn’t done their home work they would sometimes be beaten up. I think the teachers have become much more reluctant to do so now. They have become more aware that it is not going to help”, states Head Teacher Pandey.
Peace skills – not only for children

Apart from the training of teachers and facilitators, the Peace Education Programme consists of two complementary components: Formal education for school children and non-formal training for the community. An important aim is to ensure the programme’s sustainability by making the local communities take over and continue on their own.

Krishna Prasad Bhandari, who has followed the efforts of all 12 schools in the area as local partner SSDC’s supervisor of the project agrees with this dual-approach, “It would be better if we could extend it to make it community-based. That would have a quick impact. With school intervention only, it is slow and the impact is late. We need to get the adults involved, and only then can we really bring about change!’ 

Still Bhandari is positive about the project itself and the local support, “We have plans for the future. All of us who have been involved held a meeting recently. We agreed that we had learnt something from the outside, something very useful, and now we want to continue on our own with a weekly peace education class in the schools. More children need this, actually all of them need it! We want to continue whether we get any outside support or not. We really believe in this”.  

Tara Chandra Pandey reflects: “I think people have become more aware of their behaviour. We all know how little it takes for it all to explode again. I think the memory of the conflict will keep us safe. We have become humble regarding all types of conflicts, even banal arguments between neighbours. Now we know how quickly and dangerously it can escalate. I think it is a good thing to keep that memory alive through reflecting upon what happened, in school and in the community”.