print
To Focus On Students' Emotional Well-Being, India Tries 'Happiness Classes'
by sd86

    Delhi's Education Minister Manish Sisodia is charged with implementing the unorthodox curriculum. "It will address the ever-growing concern - levels of happiness & wellbeing [are] decreasing, while stress, anxiety & depression are increasing," he tweeted the day the program launched at the start of the month.

    Sisodia's among many who say those pressures are linked to India's high student suicide rate.

    "For the last 40 to 50 years the education system has been translated into an industry worker-producing system" at all education levels, he tells Weekend Edition host Scott Simon.

    India's rigid academic environment encourages rote memorization that often leads to cramming — and stress. This structure neglects the development of creative and social skills, Sisodia says.

    .

    .

    .

    One in four Indian children aged 13 to 15 struggles with depression, the World Health Organization reported last year.