14000 Delhi govt school students hone skills with new entrepreneurship module

The interactions are a key component of the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum(EMC) which was launched by the Delhi government earlier in July.

“What is the minimum capital required to set up a small business,” Deepika Baswal, a class 10 student, asked a local entrepreneur who visited her classroom on Thursday. “I need to know because I want to set up a tuition centre after I take my board exams.”

Kicked off on October 22, at least 188 such sessions have been conducted in over 80 schools with over 14,000 students till now and almost 3,080 entrepreneurs have been roped in for these sessions. (Sanchit Khanna/HT File)

Shashank Srivastava, an entrepreneur whose six-year-old company provides skill-based training to children, replied, “If you want to start a coaching institute for students, you could spend just ₹500 and get flyers printed or urge your friends to spread the word about it. The important thing is to plan.”

Baswal, who studies in a government school in east Delhi, was among the 50 students who participated in a “live entrepreneur interaction” in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Ghazipur on Thursday.Over 24,000 students in classes 9 to 12 will participate in these sessions.

The interaction was also attended by deputy chief minister and state education minister Manish Sisodia. Kicked off on October 22, at least 188 such sessions have been conducted in over 80 schools with over 14,000 students till now and almost 3,080 entrepreneurs have been roped in for these sessions.

The interactions are a key component of the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum(EMC) which was launched by the Delhi government earlier in July. The initiative is aimed at instilling an entrepreneurial mindset among students and thus create more “job-providers” in the country.

The hour-long session on Thursday started with Srivastava sharing his story of losing his job in 2013, being rejected in over 35 interviews thereafter, and then starting his own company.

“Today’s class taught me that 35 rejections do not matter. What we need is hard work, planning and focus,” said Class 12 student Riya Dedha, who wants to be a police officer. “These classes also help in increasing our concentration and help us study better to achieve our goals.”

Sisodia too encouraged students to learn from Srivastava’s journey to ensure India becomes a “developed country” instead of remaining a “developing one.”

The students in the all-girls school, however, said they would want more stories and interactions around female entrepreneurs. “This is why we made sure that students interview an equal number of men and women during their field trips so that they look at things from a gender lens as well,” said Deepti Chawla, mentor teacher at the school.