Dy CM calls to mainstream mental health & emotional well-being edu

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday said that it was time for school education systems to acknowledge the importance of mental health and emotional well being as subjects and bring it into the mainstream, especially given the extended impact it can have on the lives of the students' families.

Illustrating his argument, Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Education Minister, said, "Almost 3-4 lakh students who practised mindfulness and different activities helped their homes to be strong and emotionally sound. Through the happiness curriculum, we have been able to encourage our ecosystems to think about long-term approaches to mental health."

The Deputy CM's remarks came while he was speaking at the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference.

Speaking of the key elements which need to be changed or introduced in public education, especially in the post-COVID world, the Deputy Chief Minister said, "The biggest takeaway from COVID, for our public education, has been that technology is here to stay. We need to quickly adapt our systems and encourage the use of technology. Adopting the right approaches to inculcate technology within our education would in fact make learning more inclusive. Our contribution to the rising need of technology is highlighted by the introduction of Delhi's First Virtual School model. Most importantly though, our Virtual School will ensure that students can benefit from 'anywhere living, anywhere learning, anytime testing."

He also said that the Delhi Board of School Education that his government is working on will focus more on "testing mindset rather than testing knowledge".

"Leadership has to involve stakeholders and our leadership is not top-down, it is more collaborative. Our Delhi Board of School Education will also eventually move towards a testing mindset rather than testing knowledge. It will play a key role in ensuring that schools develop a holistic learner profile of students, assessing and pushing for social and emotional learning in schools," Sisodia said.

The Harvard Social Enterprise Conference has brought together top leaders, practitioners and students to engage in a virtual dialogue, debate, and expression around social enterprise. The conference explores the space between people, decision-makers, and the diverse sources of social innovation, revisiting the questions of whom social enterprise is for, what role it can play, and why. The theme for this year's conference is "Resilience and Reckoning" with "Innovations in Mental Health" as the agenda for this panel discussion.