Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia held a meeting to review the city government's Youth For Education initiative under which young mentors will guide Class 10-12 students over "life and career choices", according to an official statement issued.

Sisodia also took stock of the Parent Outreach Programme (POP), it said. The mission of the two programmes for students of Delhi government-run schools is one-to-one mapping of children, a practice that is followed abroad, said Sisodia.

"One-to-one mapping of each child and understanding their individual profile was a practice that our teachers commended but they expressed concerns regarding the scale in Delhi. We know that catering to 16 lakh government school students is a challenge in Delhi but we have made this challenge into an opportunity," he added.

Through the Youth For Education (YFE) programme, children would be able to receive adequate guidance and counselling from the young generation that has been through similar process and has valuable input, said Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Education minister.

Explaining the YFE programme, he said a child might think they want to get into acting or music or become a policeman, but the teachers don't have the bandwidth to do handholding for every child. However, the mentors attached to these children would be able to talk and guide students, help them get jobs, Sisodia said.

"We made it happen with 600 students and mentors and they are so happy. These mentors have become an emotional support". The YFE is a volunteering programme wherein young people who have graduated from school and are in universities or jobs or have their own businesses can mentor in Delhi government schools and guide them regarding their careers. At present, the YFE has been piloted in 46 schools of east and south-east Delhi, roping in 4,000 mentors. More than two lakh mentors will be further enrolled in this programme for Delhi government school children, the statement said.

It said these two lakh mentors would be from amongst youth, aged below 30, like students, working professionals, etc. "For nearly 5.5 lakh students of Delhi government schools in classes 10th to 12th, we look to mobilise about two lakh youth as their mentor. Two to four students would be under one mentor," a government official said.

Talking about the need to reach out to children and guide them, Sisodia stated that there is an apparent generation gap between parents and their children. "The best way to decode what a child wants or thinks is through another child who's their age or around their age. Unfortunately, the government schools we serve do not offer provisions of guidance and handholding our students who need advice on their career," he added.

He said the POP has been designed with the idea to make a communication chain among schools, children and parents. The POP plans to build a network of School Management Committee (SMC) members and ‘School Mitras’ to help other parents and create a strong bond in the community. The programme trained 560 SMC members and Heads of 41 schools, the statement said.

"The idea is for the whole community to become a school. These two programmes will ensure that our community is shaped in a way that helps our students grow holistically, which acts as a support system for them and their families. "Our principals need to take ownership of this programme, to make an alumni group in schools and engage in localised mentoring," he said. Sisodia said for the two programmes, they have taken a cue from similar initiatives abroad. "It is the vision of our Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make education a mass movement in the nation," he said.