Covid-19: Happiness classes, Mission Buniyad to reach students’ homes via recorded voice messages

Covid-19: Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia launched the ‘Every Home A School, Every Parent A Teacher’ initiative, under which the government has requested parents to tutor their children at home.

Addressing the second session of ‘Parenting In The Time Of Corona’ on Saturday, Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia said government schools will take ‘happiness classes’ and ‘Mission Buniyad’ activities to students’ homes so they can continue learning even while the lockdown remains in force. He launched the ‘Every Home A School, Every Parent A Teacher’ initiative, under which the government has requested parents to tutor their children at home.

Covid-19: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia visits the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya to inspect a happiness class, at West Vinod Nagar in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, February 22, 2020.(Raj K Raj/HT FILE PHOTO)

The first session was addressed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on April 4.

“Starting Sunday, parents of students in government schools up to class 8 will receive audio calls (IVR) from the education department to guide them on how to take on the role of teachers at home. Step-by-step activities will be shared through pre-recorded audio messages on how to conduct Happiness Classes and Mission Buniyaad at home,” the deputy CM said.

Sisodia said the purpose of guiding parents on ‘happiness classes’ was to create a positive environment for students at home. “We are all gripped with anxiety. We do not know what to do as a fun activity. We cannot go out or sit in the parks; we are confined to our homes. In such situations, it is possible to get irritated with one another.”

“The activities (in happiness classes) would be conducted at home every day by parents. We will support around 8 lakh students and their families to practice mindful meditation from Sunday with the help of our teachers,” he said.

Happiness Class is unique curriculum to help students develop self-awareness and mindfulness.

Director of the Directorate of Education (DoE) Binay Bhushan, who accompanied the education minister, requested parents to use the lockdown as an opportunity to tutor kids at homes. “We had planned to start Mission Buniyaad in April. So, we request parents to start coaching their kids to make them start reading and writing few lines every day and solve basic math problems. It is also a good way to help tackle boredom,” Bhushan said.

Under the Mission Buniyad initiative, the government schools work towards ensuring that every student of classes 3 to 9 is able to read, write and do basic mathematics.

During the interaction, Bhavna Sawnani, a member of the Delhi government’s team Mission Buniyaad, also gave tips on how to practice the initiative creatively at home. “Parents can try teaching their kids by making games out of the process and engage them creatively. They can play ‘shabdo ki antakshari’ with their kids, which will improve their vocabulary or talk about their thoughts and ask their kids how they feel and ask them to write it down,” she said.