A project to bring college students to groom schoolchildren has been initiated in East Delhi’s Shahdara district.
For the past 10 days, dozens of college students have been visiting the schools in the area to mentor the children.
Project Hope was initiated by Shahdara District Magistrate Abhishek Singh. His office has been acting as the bridge between colleges and schools, and awarding certificates of appreciation to the volunteering students. The pilot project started between Vivekananda College in Vivek Vihar and Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School located in Dilshad Garden on February 15.
“The response by the college students has been overwhelming. Nearly 100 students volunteered to dedicate an hour everyday for this project,” said Mr. Singh.
Besides helping the children with their lessons, the mentors have been urging them to share their personal problems as well. The project will soon be expanded to include other colleges and schools in the area, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Singh has also “adopted” the girls’ school in a bid to revive academic culture and improve infrastructure. More schools may benefit from the adoption exercise if the initiative yields results, he added.
Soon after the “adoption”, a cleanliness drive was carried out in the school and a list of infrastructural deficiencies there drawn up. “The list has been handed over to the PWD so that the shortcomings are overcome. We are also eliciting support from non-government organisations to better the facilities in the school,” said Mr. Singh.
