8L students of Delhi's government schools to undergo "happiness curriculum"
From July, eight lakh government school students in Delhi will learn a new and unique course - "happiness curriculum." It will be launched on July 2 by the Dalai Lama, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who is also the Education Minister, said. "After ten years or more, these children will become professionals like doctors and engineers filled with happiness and serve the society," he said.
What will the curriculum include?
The "happiness curriculum" will be taught to all students of government schools from Classes Nursery to 8, Sisodia said. The core idea is to produce "'sarvagun sampann' (holistically accomplished) professionals and human beings," he added. For that, it would teach students meditation, mental exercises, moral values and more. The final draft was approved at a recent meeting chaired by Sisodia.
No exams, students' progress to be gauged through "happiness index"
When announcing the curriculum in February, Sisodia had said education should serve "a larger moral and societal purpose." Increasing crimes "make us realize that there is a need for a more fundamental re-look at the purpose of education." In keeping with its goal, there will be no exam for students in "happiness curriculum," which would be an activity-based "subject." A "happiness index" will assess children's progress.
'Harvard's "happiness" course not as large as in Delhi'
While announcing the upcoming course, Sisodia cited his visit to Harvard University, which too runs "happiness" courses, he said. But they weren't as large as in Delhi, where 8L students across 1,000 schools would undergo the curriculum, he added.
