250 Delhi students felicitated for mentoring girl students in govt schools
A survey done by government officials showed the number of girl students who knew the timelines for competitive examinations went up from 38% to 91% in the past six months
Around 250 students from the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) were felicitated by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday for successfully mentoring over 1,000 girl students of classes 11 and 12 in Delhi government schools for six months, and encouraging them to pursue higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
A survey done by government officials showed the number of girl students who knew the timelines for competitive examinations went up from 38% to 91% in the past six months. The government survey also showed that the students’ awareness regarding financial support increased from 7% to 54% while that of mock tests increased from 22% to 96% in the past six months. Also, the students’ determination for pursuing higher education increased from 28% to 94% in the past six months.
“Only 21% students had any idea about the nature of papers they had to answer to clear the entrance exams [before the mentoring programme began] but this number went up to 99% over the past six months. Students also reported that their communication, self-motivation, confidence and time management skills significantly improved [in the past six months],” the government said in a statement on Tuesday.
The initiative Education Mentoring Programme was launched by the Delhi government in March this year to encourage more girl students to pursue education in STEM fields. “Over 1.5 lakh (150,000) Delhi government school students write the board exams each year. Of these, only 5,000-6,000 are girls from the science stream. Even they often do not have access to information and guidance about careers at large, and the field of engineering in particular,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday, explaining the reason for launching the programme.
Under the Education Mentoring Programme, girl students who recently cleared the Joint Entrance Exam had the opportunity to share their “experience, learnings and advice” with aspirants. The young mentors also discussed the available choices of courses in STEM, entrance examinations and question patterns, resources available for preparation, and financial aid schemes of the government.
“Our education system has perfected its ability to cater to the top 5% of our students. But you and I need to work hard to make sure that all 100% of our children have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. I urge all of you to now go motivate all your friends to become mentors too,” Sisodia said at the felicitation event.