MENTOR-MENTEE SCHEME

1. Title of the Practice:

MENTOR-MENTEE SCHEME

2. Objectives of the Practice:

  • Individual counselling
    • The main objective is to provide personal counselling to students. This helps students to overcome a number of problems that affect their academic performance.
  • To develop students’ personality
    • The constant support helps mentee to develop his/her personality through Mentor-Mentee Scheme. It also boosts their confidence and overall personality.
  • Try to solve academic difficulties
    • Assigned students are updated with new academic developments in the college as well in the subjects. Every mentor tries to solve academic difficulties of a mentor.

3. The Context:

The idea of the Mentor-Mentee scheme was contextualized considering the need for overall support to the learners at Shivaji College, Kannad. The vital points in context of the inception of this scheme were as follows:
  • Being a rural and economically poor area, there was already less access to higher education and higher degree of drop-outs
  • The student-teacher interaction needed to be more informal
  • Personal and family problems of the students adversely affected their academic and professional progress
  • It was observed that the social and electronic media could prove to be helpful in communicating with students
  • It was also observed that social and psychological support could help them academically

4. The Practice:

  • At the commencement of every academic year, under the directions by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell, the Mentor-Mentee committee appoints coordinators for each faculty.
    • I. Co-ordinator for Science Faculty II. Co-ordinator for Arts Faculty III. Co-ordinator for Commerce Faculty
  • The coordinators further divide the responsibilities among the teachers. Approximately equal number of students is allotted to each teacher. The teachers are provided with a list of their assigned mentees along with their contact number and e-mail address which are available in the college database.
  • The mentors communicates with allotted students by telecommunication & personally.
  • Teachers create social media groups for constant communication. The important instructions are easily communicated via such groups.
  • The students are encouraged to participate in the classroom activities as well as the co-curricular, extra-curricular and extension activities according to their own skills. The mentors try to give exposure to the skills of the students by encouraging them to take part in the various programs arranged in the college.
  • The assigned Mentors provide personal counselling to the students about their progress in the academics as well as the future plans about their career.
  • As this is a round-the-year activity, the Mentor teachers maintain the record of allotted students.

Uniqueness of the Practice:

This scheme has been a unique practice in the following regards:
  • In our college, the scheme has been being implemented in a different form since long before the NAAC included it as a metric
  • Previously it was practised under the name ‘Dattak Palak Yojna’ in which the students were allotted to the teacher who gave them counselling, guidance and support
  • The college has been implementing the scheme in a very well-structured format

5. Evidence of Success:

  • The personal counselling has proved to make a positive effect on the students as it also helped us to know the student’s personal problem
  • Each member has contributed in solving academic problems of Mentees
  • We are able to trace students’ progression just because of Mentor- Mentee Scheme
  • We can also have data of our Alumni through this scheme
  • Now, students are more attached with Mentor teacher. Strong bonding has developed between students & Teachers
  • The students’ participation in curricular, co-curricular, extra-curricular and extension activities has significantly increased
  • The students’ academic performance has shown a positive change
  • The number of drop-outs has significantly decreased
The positive results achieved from the practice indicate that the college has been successfully implementing the practice.

6. Problems Encountered and Resources Required:

There were very few problems we encountered with this scheme. But most important is the poor economic background the limits students’ access to higher education.