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The idea sounds simple: give children one hour every week to talk about their problems, listen to classmates and learn how to resolve conflicts. In Denmark, this practice is part of school life. Could India use a similar approach to tackle bullying?
Denmark's Klassens tid, or class hour, is a weekly session in which students discuss personal and classroom issues, listen to one another and work towards solutions. The practice is widely associated with Denmark's approach to social and emotional learning, although it is important not to credit the class alone for lower bullying rates.
Denmark's approach puts relationships and belonging at the centre of classroom life. Instead of treating every disagreement as a disciplinary problem, the session gives children space to discuss tensions and find solutions together.
The practice is often traced to 1993, when it became part of the Danish school curriculum. However, the claim that this single intervention made Danish children less likely to be bullied needs caution.
International research offers a broader picture. The World Health Organization's 2024 report on school-aged children found that around one in six school-aged children worldwide had experienced cyberbullying, based on data from 44 countries and regions. The findings also point to the continuing challenge of online harassment.
Research involving Danish schoolchildren has found comparatively favourable bullying outcomes in some international comparisons. But this does not establish that Klassens tid alone caused those results.
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India has reason to pay attention. A 2019 study by The Teacher Foundation and Wipro Applying Thought In Schools, conducted across 15 cities, found that 42% of students in Classes 4 to 8 and 36% in Classes 9 to 12 reported bullying and harassment on school campuses. UNICEF India has noted the lack of comprehensive national data on bullying.
India already has anti-bullying policies and school safety measures. The challenge is ensuring that children can report abuse safely and that schools address it consistently.
Schools could adapt Denmark's idea through a compulsory, age-appropriate weekly session. Younger children could discuss friendship, exclusion and sharing, while older students could explore peer pressure, discrimination, online harassment and conflict resolution.
Teachers would need training to guide these conversations without humiliating children or forcing victims to confront bullies. Schools should also establish confidential reporting systems, clear investigation procedures, counsellor access and follow-up checks.
The Union Education Ministry and state education departments could pilot the model in government and private schools, measure bullying rates before and after implementation, and expand it if independent evaluations show results. The sessions could be incorporated into existing timetables rather than adding another subject or burdening students with homework.
Most importantly, empathy lessons cannot replace accountability. Serious or repeated bullying requires intervention, protection for victims and appropriate disciplinary action.
Denmark offers an idea worth testing, not a guaranteed cure. If schools want children to treat one another with respect, they must teach those skills as deliberately as they teach mathematics or science.
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