NPR

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

This month, Delhi students saw a new course added to their traditionally rigid curriculum. To confront academic pressures linked to India's high suicide rate, public schools are teaching mindfulness.
Students in India have begun to engage in creative activities as a part of newly launched program by the Delhi government to shift emphasis onto mental health well-being.

For the past three weeks, students across India's capital have been attending a radical new course: happiness.

The Delhi government introduced "happiness classes" in an effort to shift the country's academic focus from student achievement to emotional well-being. In a country that uses standardized testing to determine student success, offers a limited number of seats in top universities and sets high expectations, educators have been seeing mental health consequences.

Delhi's Education Minister Manish Sisodia the day the program launched at the start of the month.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
Magic, Secrets, And Urban Legend: 3 New YA Fantasy Novels To Read This Spring
A heist with a social conscience, a father using magic for questionable work, an urban legend turned sleepover dare: These new releases explore protagonists embracing the magic within themselves.
NPR3 min readWorld
The Eurovision Song Contest Kicked Off With Pop And Protests
Performers representing countries across Europe and beyond took the stage in the first of two Eurovision semifinals in the Swedish city of Malmo, against a backdrop of both parties and protests.
NPR4 min read
A Lawmaker With A Brain Disease Used Voice Assist To Back Her Bill On The House Floor
Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia was diagnosed last year with rare disease that makes it hard to speak. She still advocated for a bill renaming a post office in her district – and the House passed it.

Related Books & Audiobooks