Lalitpur.September 2026: More than fifty public school teachers from three community schools in Lalitpur have completed a practical training on managing challenging classroom behaviours, with a renewed focus on replacing punishment with respectful and evidence-based discipline.

The workshops were led by educator and trainer Mrs. Sudha Shrestha Lama, an education advisor with over three decades of experience working with schools in both urban and rural Nepal. Organized by Aakar Foundation, the training was conducted at Patan High School, Sramik Shanti Higher Secondary School, and Lalit Kalyan Basic School as part of the effort to strengthen inclusive and child-friendly classrooms.

Rather than treating challenging behaviour as disobedience, the sessions encouraged teachers to understand it as a form of communication. Through discussion, reflection, and classroom scenarios, participants explored how children’s home environment, learning differences, hunger, bullying, and emotional distress often lie behind disruptive behaviour.

A key feature of the workshop was the use of Nepal-based case studies that reflected situations familiar to community school teachers: an overage child facing bullying, a student unable to remain seated during lessons, a girl living with domestic violence, and a boy repeatedly punished for sleeping in class before teachers discovered he was working early mornings to support his family. 

These cases formed the basis for group discussions on how teachers can respond with guidance instead of corporal punishment.Teachers also completed anonymous self-reflection questionnaires before and after the training. The assessment measured their confidence in behaviour management, attitudes toward positive discipline, and commitment to using non-violent strategies in their own classrooms. 

The post-training section asked teachers to identify practical approaches they were ready to implement, including praising positive behaviour, gentle redirection, one-on-one conversations with students, assigning responsibility, and resolving conflict peacefully.

Mrs. Lama emphasized that discipline remains an essential part of teaching, but punishment is a choice. Drawing on international research as well as decades of classroom experience, she introduced teachers to six practical strategies: public praise, reward systems, gentle redirection, student responsibility, individual conversations, and celebrating small improvements. 

The training highlighted growing evidence that supportive teacher-student relationships improve learning, resilience, and classroom behaviour more effectively than physical or emotional punishment.