Delhi govt schools implement new pattern of celebrating students' birthdays as part of Happiness Curriculum

A circular from the Directorate of Education, DoE, has been published regarding birthday celebrations for pupils attending Delhi government schools. It will now be covered in the curriculum for happiness.

The statement in the circular is, "In order to boost gratitude, motivation and positive thinking within schools, a new pattern of celebrating birthdays of students studying in the government schools of Delhi will be followed."

DoE stated that birthdays of pupils falling on Sundays and holidays would be honoured in class the next working day. The following is stated in the circular: "Birthdays falling during the vacation period will be celebrated collectively on the first day of school reopening."

The Happiness Curriculum is also founded on the fundamental tenets of UNESCO (the "four pillars of learning"), which offer instructions for educators on the core concepts of education. The following pillars being: -

Learning to know: To give students the cognitive resources they need to better understand the complexity of the world and to lay a solid foundation for future learning.

Learning to do: To equip people with the abilities they need to contribute significantly to society and the global economy.

Learning to be: To provide people the self-analysis and social skills they need to develop to the fullest extent possible in all spheres of their lives—psychosocially, affectively, physically, etc.

Learning to coexist: Enabling individuals and societies to live in peace and harmony requires exposing people to the ideals latent in human rights, democratic principles, intercultural understanding and respect, and peace at all levels of society.

Happiness curriculum, which was launched in 2018, focuses on a 35- minute class in government schools wherein kindergarten to grade 8 students participate from over 1030 government schools. Self-expression, empathy, understanding of relationships, etc. are some of the motives of curriculum.