The Delhi government is conducting a survey on social and emotional skills among teenage students in 75 state-run schools in the city. An official circular was issued in this regard on Wednesday, April 26, stating that the survey would begin on April 27.

The survey is being conducted among students aged between 15 years and three months and 16 years and two months (as of April 12). It is being carried out by the Dream a Dream NGO, and the data would be collected by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the circular informed, as mentioned in a report by PTI.

What does the circular say?
"The schools concerned have been directed to nominate a teacher to act as coordinator and cooperate with the NGO... No foreign funding should be involved in the project without the prior approval of the DoE (Directorate of Education), following the guidelines issued by the government of India. Privacy of students or parents should not be affected in the process of the project," the document stated.

DoE officials stated that the survey is one of the first international efforts to develop a comprehensive set of metrics around social and emotional skills designed to enhance policies to improve the development and well-being of young people. The goal of this assessment is to gather empirical evidence on students' social and emotional skills and their relevance to various life outcomes along with providing robust and reliable insights, they said.

"The survey would target students (15 years old), teachers, principals, and parents. As per the international timelines of the study, we are to conduct the main study in April-May 2023. The field trial was conducted last year in May 2022," an official added, as per PTI.