Chandigarh: 42 govt schools to get mentors under NEP initiative
The programme, aimed at long-term, community-driven engagement, is set to begin this month as schools reopen after summer break. Each mentor will 'adopt' a school and regularly interact with students, offering guidance, motivation, and exposure to diverse career paths.
Among the mentors are key officials of the UT administration, including acting UT director general of police Pushpendra Kumar, deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav, and home secretary Mandeep Singh Brar, who have each been assigned schools.
Prominent academicians like Panjab University registrar YP Verma, Nandita Shukla Singh (department of education, PU), and faculty members from institutions like IISER and NIPER, Mohali, will also serve as mentors. In the medical field, several experts from the departments of community medicine and psychiatry have been included, with PGIMER director Dr Vivek Lal mentoring Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Dhanas.
The programme also brings on board leading entrepreneurs, including Taranjeet Singh Bamra, chairperson of CII Chandigarh, former CII chairpersons Sarvjeet Virk, SPS Grewal, and Manish Gupta, and Bharti Sood, regional director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Educationist Dr Madhu Chitkara and entrepreneur Naveen Manglani are also among the mentors.
Explaining the structure, UT director of school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar, who himself is mentoring GMSSS Dhanas, said, 'The initiative is designed for sustained, monthly engagement. Mentors are expected to visit schools at least once a month, interact with students, attend parent-teacher meetings and serve as role models. Their role is non-administrative, focused solely on guidance, support, and inspiration.'
Mentors' names and photographs will be displayed in the respective schools to signify their association.
'Currently this scheme is for senior secondary schools only but we are looking to expand it to all schools. We will also rope in more mentors looking at the response from the first phase of this scheme,' Brar said.
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