Anand Niketan Group of Schools includes 'happiness quotient' in curriculum

To make students understand the real meaning of happiness, a city-based school has included 'happiness quotient' in their curriculum. Anand Niketan Group of Schools found a new way of assessing children by not only testing their skills, but also assessing their happiness quotient.

As a part of the initiative, nearly 200 students brightened up the walls of municipal schools in Makarba and Bavla, and imparted lessons on myriad subjects.

Speaking about the same, Nashy Chauhan, Director, Anand Niketan Group of Schools, said, "Happiness is an extremely important part of education. If children are not happy, how will they learn. For us, it was very important to know what happiness means to our children. Does eating ice-cream make them happy? If yes, then it is very materialistic. Our students live in big houses, travel by cars; but this is not universal. So, we decided to adopt two villages with help of the Inspector General. One was in Makarba and the other was in Bavla. We decided to paint the walls of the municipal schools there. We wanted our students to learn that true happiness lies in making others happy."

A total of 200 students of Class 6 and Class 7 were sent to the municipal schools.

Sharing her experience, a 12-year-old student of Class 6, Dishita Komar, said, "When we met the students, we realised they needed a bright environment to learn. Surroundings matter so much to us and children often get bored seeing blank, dull walls. So we painted the walls with different themes and subjects, and taught them Mathematics, too.

It was a brilliant experience.

After getting a positive response from these students, the school now plans to expand their base to other schools in the vicinity and involve other classes, too.