Madhya Pradesh To Roll Out ‘Happiness Curriculum’ For Classes 9-12 In 9,000 Schools—What You Need To Know

Students across Madhya Pradesh’s government schools will soon study happiness as part of their formal education, with the state government preparing to launch a ‘Happiness Curriculum’ for Classes 9 to 12 from the upcoming session, Indian Express reported.

The curriculum—piloted in 450 schools over the last two years—will now be scaled to 9,000 schools, with the aim of fostering emotional well-being, ethical thinking, and holistic living among students, according to state’s Rajya Anand Sansthan (Happiness Department) chief Satya Prakash Arya.

The course content, according to the IE report, draws heavily on a framework that emphasises understanding happiness beyond material success, developing self-awareness, and cultivating harmony in relationships with oneself, family, society, and nature through activity-based learning.

According to the report, the Happiness Curriculum for Class 9 comprises 11 chapters and begins with an exploration of happiness as a holistic experience, using storytelling, group discussions, and reflection to teach students that happiness transcends material aspects and requires ethical thinking for holistic living.

Further, it focuses on self-awareness, encouraging students to observe their thoughts, feelings, and actions through introspection and group activities to achieve clarity and alignment in their behaviour.

The curriculum for Class 10 includes 11 chapters, of which some of the notable inclusions are on self-awareness to deepen understanding, guiding students to observe their thoughts, desires, feelings, and actions through introspection.

It also addresses the misconception of viewing humans as merely physical, teaching that true harmony requires fulfilling both the self’s and body’s needs appropriately.

In Class 11, students will be introduced to harmony in family relationships, focusing on values like love, care, and gratitude.

The curriculum also contains chapters that “deepens the understanding of happiness and prosperity”, critiquing misconceptions (e.g., happiness from material facilities or others’ approval).

Class 12 content spans 16 chapters and introduces cnature as a collection of conscious and material units, categorised into four orders (material, plant, animal, human), with the first three being complementary to humans.

The course, mandatory across all streams in Classes 9 to 12, will skip formal exams in favour of process-oriented learning through activities like mindfulness exercises, reflective storytelling, and group discussions.

According to Arya, the course It teaches students that happiness is not just about resource gathering or achieving milestones and all paths, whether academic, personal, or professional, lead to happiness.

"We want students to understand that happiness is the ultimate goal," Arya added.

Officials report encouraging behavioural shifts among students, including improved focus, discipline and higher attendance during the pilot phase.

Parents have also observed reduced sibling rivalry and that their children are helping out at home more.

To expand implementation, the state plans 14 workshops this May to train 3,000 teachers, aiming to build a cadre of 4,000 educators who will lead Anand Classes across Madhya Pradesh schools.

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