Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recently reported that it recognized a record 814 new startups in May 2019 only, indicating that the startup ecosystem has been growing exponentially in India.
The working-age demographic has started to overlook traditional employment opportunities and there is an increasing push towards generating their own employment.
This shift has created an immediate necessity to reform the archaic education system to accommodate the changing needs of the student population in India.
With a view of bringing the curriculum on par with the needs of the present economic paradigm, the Delhi govt has announced to introduce “Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum”, a compulsory subject for the students of class 9-12 studying in government-run schools.
The program will be introduced across 1,024 schools, as a compulsory non-graded subject, comprising of a daily 40-minute class. The Delhi govt, of its budget for 2019-20, has allocated around Rs 40-50 crore to execute the project.
Students will be provided Rs 1,000 each to work on case studies and develop a feasible business model and will be allowed to keep the returns.
There will not be any graded exams or specific textbooks rather the program will work with the holistic view of enlightening these teenagers about the spirit and character traits of successful entrepreneurs.
The program was designed by a committee comprising SCERT, NCERT teachers and experts like Abhishek Gupta who have worked in the field of entrepreneurial education. The project was launched in February this year with endorsements from famous entrepreneurs like Binny Bansal, Dharampal Gulati, and Krishna Yadav.
The new curriculum was passed after carrying out a pilot project across 24 schools in Delhi from 1 April to 10 May to gather feedback. other than the business aspects of entrepreneurship.
For the successful implementation of the program the 3000 teachers per day are going through a week-long training program and have been provided with a manual having 15 chapters or units including ‘Dream Big’, ‘Recognize Opportunity’, planning, listening, collaboration, ‘Bounce Back From Failures’, etc.
However, the program will not be without its inherent limitations as Project director Sapna Yadav identifies, being a non-graded subject it will be an uphill task to make the students focus during the 40 minute long lectures on the subject.
With large classroom sizes ranging between 40-50 students each, paying the attention needed by each individual student will not be easy and would add additional pressure on the already overburdened students as well as teachers.
Even with its own challenges and implementation problems, this program is certainly a step in the right direction as there is imminent need to overhaul the education system in India.
