AAP Govt Launches ‘Entrepreneurship Curriculum’ in State Schools

The Delhi government has decided to provide entrepreneurial seed money to school and college students.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Delhi government on Wednesday, 13 February, launched an entrepreneurship curriculum for the students of state-run schools, which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, would “help solve the employment issues in the country”.

The Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum Framework, developed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), will provide “seed money” to school children and college students to “experiment with the entrepreneurial mindset”.

THE SCHEME

The Delhi government has decided to provide entrepreneurial seed money worth Rs 1,000 each to school students and Rs 5,000 each to college students to “inspire them through various entrepreneurial stories, case studies and many mindfulness activities and approaches.”

• The entrepreneurship curriculum would have no exams, books or evaluation.
• It’ll focus on imparting the personality and character traits of successful entrepreneurs, other than the business aspects of entrepreneurship.
• A pilot project, including teachers from 15-20 schools, will be held from April onwards.
• As per the feedback, the project will be executed at the school-level from July.
• A team of 14 people, including mentor teachers, social workers, entrepreneurs and SCERT members are overlooking the syllabi-making process, Indian Express reported.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

• Students of Classes IX to XII in state-run schools will get Rs 1,000
• College students will get Rs 5,000

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

The Delhi government will have to bear a total cost of around Rs 40-50 crore to execute the project.

The funds will be allocated by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government from the next financial year onwards.

Speaking at the event held at New Delhi’s Thyagaraj Sports Complex, Sisodia said that by launching the project, the Delhi government will set an example for the entire world.

“This curriculum will solve the employment issues in the country and enable the schools in Delhi to become the best among the world,” he said, as per PTI.

“The curriculum will invariably bring about a paradigm shift in the education system in the way students explore and learn and in the manner teachers facilitate and guide these exploratory processes,” Sisodia added.

He also emphasised that an entrepreneurial mindset was required for all professionals to be successful in their career. "Success stories of various professionals and public servants testify it," he added.

The event was also attended by Padma Bhushan Mahashay Dharampal Gulati of MDH foods, who was the chief guest; former Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal; founder of Shri Krishna Pickles, Krishna Yadav; and Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev.

This is the second such initiative in curricular reforms introduced by the AAP government.

It had earlier launched a “happiness curriculum” in state-run schools that involves a “happiness period” of 45 minutes and five minutes of meditation before each class.

(With inputs from The Indian Express, PTI)