BENGALURU: Youth Mentors from across the country will soon be welcome to mentor students in Delhi government schools. This is one of Delhi government's community-based mobilisation to create education champions in the community, with schools being shut.
"Earlier we tried to create these champions in the school, but now we try in the community," said Atishi Marlena, MLA, Delhi and Educator here on Friday, at 'Be the change you want to see in Education system in Karnataka' conference organized by Aam Aadmi Party, Karnataka.
Talking about the initiative that will be launched in September, Atishi said that at present the Delhi government has piloted for the past one year, a mentorship programme where the youth of the city, who are studying in colleges and doing jobs, mentored students of class 11 and 12.
The public school students were called once a week by the volunteers and guided about their studies and careers.
The plan is to expand it to class 9 to 12, she told a few reporters here.
She also urged those from Bengaluru too to participate as the government is opening up the programme to youth across the country who want to mentor students from Delhi government schools, and can do so over phones and video calls.
She said the announcement for the same will be made early September.
The initiative is among those meant to "bridge the gap in a very unequal society that the classroom was trying to do".
Although from now on a lot more technology is going to be used in education, Atishi said that solutions have arrived in the capital city that was not just technological, but community-based mobilisation that can create education champions within the community.
For instance, a large parent outreach programme where school management committee members and other volunteers each took charge of up to 50 students in their localities and called in on parents to check if everything was alright at home, online classes, and if they got their worksheets. These little networks were bridges to solve other problems during the pandemic.
These parents and SMC members even started holding reading melas in the community, with schools yet to open, so students can get back into the gear for learning.
She believed the answer was not just in technology, as it always would have access issues. As a society and community we need to be ready to prepare a support system, create education champions within communities if we are to face a crisis.
Talking about her learning as a social activist, political activist and education researcher and now a politician, she said, if we want the education system of the country to improve, every child to have top quality education, we will first have to change the politics of our country.
"The story is of political will and of the government wanting to bring change -- across the country one can see that most political persons MLA's or MP's own and run private schools and colleges, and if the decision-makers on public education have their vested interest in private education, why would they want government schools to improve?" she asked.