BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to give firm shape to the Shaktishree initiative, the state government has directed all the districts to appoint Shakti Apas and higher education institutions to nominate Shaktishree Sanjojikas at the earliest.
The Higher Education department on Friday asked all the district collectors to appoint five distinguished female professionals in each district as Shakti Apas (mentors). These mentors will be responsible for guiding and mentoring young girl students in educational institutions. The collectors have been asked to choose from social workers, retired government employees (either police or armed forces), legal and cyber security experts, educational or public health experts as Shakti Apas.
“Each Shakti Apa will be assigned a certain number of educational institutions which she will visit once every three months to interact with and mentor the students,” director of Higher Education department Kaliprasanna Mahapatra said.
Similarly, the higher educational institutions have been directed to nominate one ‘student-friendly’ female faculty member having strong leadership skills to serve as Shaktishree Sanjojika. All the colleges and universities will also set up a Shaktishree Empowerment Cell.
The faculty member will be the coordinator of the Shaktishree initiative at the institution level and be responsible for overall supervision, guidance and mentoring of the Shaktishree Empowerment Cell. The empowerment cell will be managed by a girl student designated as Shaktishree Saathi.
“A Shaktishree Sanjojika will mentor Shaktishree Saathis and student volunteers, liaise with Shakti Apas and local authorities for awareness and support services. Most importantly, she will be promote gender sensitivity on campus through sessions and campaigns, and facilitate access to support services for women in distress including legal assistance,” said Mahapatra.
The higher education institutions have been asked to nominate the Shaktishree Sanjojikas by August 4. The Shaktishree initiative was announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on July 19 after a 20-year-old student of FM College set herself ablaze on the campus following alleged sexual harassment by a professor. Aimed at ensuring a safe environment for female students, it will be implemented across all 16 universities and 730 government and government-aided colleges under the Higher Education department.