As the district administration is working on having a system of mentoring that enables students to openly express their feelings in educational institutions, a few institutions already have the system in place.
The administration’s plan has gained momentum after a spate of incidents involving sexual harassment, drug abuse, and similar other rcent incidents.
It’s been over five years that the Father Muller Medical College has put a mentor system in place for 800 students from medicine and 400 each from Allied Health, and Nursing courses.
“Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences has prescribed the mentoring system. We have put out our own model fine-tuning it and regularly updating the same,” said Rev. Fr. Ajith B. Menezes, Medical College Administrator. A lecturer is appointed as a mentor for a group of 10 students. Each student has to compulsorily meet the mentor five times a year. The student is also given the freedom to choose the mentor he/she wants. The mentor keeps in touch with the student and his/her parent throughout the course.
A separate log book is maintained for this purpose. Once every three months, mentors meet to discuss issues. The college provides counselling and other needed support for students to overcome their problems.
Fr. Menezes said the college this year is offering mentors a diploma course to enhance their counselling skills. The college is also training the non-teaching staff in handling students. A wellness programme is being done for students in which training is given in peer handling, he said.
Milagres College, since the assault on the principal in 2016, has appointed a full-time counsellor to support 30 lecturers, who act as mentors for 700 undergraduate students.
Principal Rev. Fr. Michael Santhumayor said that a women’s cell meeting is held once a month where girls open up to incidents of harassment.
“A system is in place to address issues concerning students quickly and effectively,” he said. The college is systematically holding ‘value education’ classes for all students since 2017.
While mentoring has been in place at University College for several years, a final-year student said it needs to strengthened by filling the vacant posts of lecturers.
“It’s difficult for 30 permanent lecturers handle 1,500-odd UG students. You cannot expect much from guest lecturers,” said the student.
