School leadership during violent conflict: rethinking education for peace in Nepal and beyond

This paper outlines the impact and professional tensions created by the decade-long armed conflict (1996–2006) on school leadership in Nepal. Drawing on qualitative interviews and discussions with school heads and teachers (n?=?92), the study reveals that the onerous pressure of pupils’ safety during crisis ultimately fell upon teachers and school leaders who faced direct violence on school grounds and communities they lived in. It was found that school heads were traumatised by consistent pressures, as manifested in the form of financial extortion, physical threats and abductions by the Maoists while the security forces frequently harassed them as Maoist sympathisers or confederates. Maintaining relational equilibrium with warring parties in order to ensure their personal and school survival was a traumatic experience. Despite the enormity of effects on education during conflict, the post-conflict educational debates largely undermine the voice of those who were at the frontlines during crisis. These findings provide useful insights into the ‘experiential dimension’ of civil conflict at schools in conflict zones and implications for educational programming.