Delhi government schools to invite parents for talk on curricula

In order to get feedback on two of its flagship programmes — the Happiness Curriculum and Entrepreneurship Curriculum — the Delhi government’s education department has decided to reach out to parents.

Delhi government schools have been asked to arrange one hour interactive sessions to be held between June 21-24 on school premises and led by two three members of the school management committee.

“All the heads of the government schools (HOS) under Directorate of Education (DOE) are directed to organise interactive sessions with the parents led by school management committee (SMC) members to discuss the impact of Happiness Curriculum and Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum on their children,” a DOE official said.

While the class teachers are responsible for calling the parents, all the HOSs have been asked to ensure that all the parents are invited for the session. “For assuring maximum participation, if required, a teacher may call multiple times,” the official added. Parents would also receive copies of handouts which would have sample stories to be read out during these sessions.

Reacting to the move, Awadhesh Jha, principal of a government school in Rohini, said, “Calling parents to school in June is a difficult task. Making calls and ensuring maximum participation will definitely be a challenge. But those who come will understand the happiness curriculum and how important it is,” he said. Jha added that these sessions would help the lessons reach more homes and parents will get a firsthand knowledge of what their children are learning.

According to the guidelines for the interactive session, the floor shall be opened for discussion after the narration of stories in the curriculum. “The story shall be broken down into three parts for better understanding, questions shall be posed and dialogue will be encouraged. The dialogue shall reflect upon the story to bring out the difference in people’s attitude: ranging from negative to passive to positive, its impact on their work and lifestyle and overall wellbeing,” it added.

Along with taking feedback on the curriculum for effective implementation, SMC members have also been instructed to explore if parents are observing any positive changes in their child’s behaviour or activities in last few months—after the implementation of happiness curriculum.

For entrepreneurship curriculum, the school has been instructed to discuss the “virtues of perseverance and innovative thought” through stories. The SMC members will also introduce parents to other such lessons in the curriculum including “risk taking ability, courage, motivation, how to compete with self, team building, concern for others which would shape the child into an entrepreneur (a job giver) rather than a jobseeker.”

First Published: Jun 17, 2019 12:03 IST