Suspend 'Desh Ke Mentor' scheme till loopholes fixed: NCPCR to Delhi govt

New Delhi: Noting that the 'Desh Ke Mentor' programme had several "loopholes" that may potentially expose school children to crime and abuse, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked the Delhi government to suspend the programme till the issues raised by them are addressed.

The programme was launched by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last year, with actor Sonu Sood as the brand ambassador. It is meant to connect students of Classes 9 to 11 to professionals successful in their respective fields for career and life guidance.

While the Delhi Chief Secretary had already issued a response to the child rights body after an earlier representation, the NCPCR said that this did not address all the issues highlighted by them and wrote to them again this week.

"It has been stated in the response that 'to protect against violation, mentees are assigned mentors who are from the same gender, it is imperative to place here that abuse or assault or sexual or otherwise, is not gender biased but same gender does not necessarily assure safety of any child in any terms," the NCCPR said in its most recent communique.

According to the NCPCR, the personnel involved in dealing with the scheme do not seem to be gender sensitised and also seem to lack knowledge about the nuances of child sexual abuse. They are also not aware about laws related to children, including POCSO Act, 2012 and JJ Act, 2015, the commission said.

It added that the letter received is silent on the question of police verification and hence it seems no police verification is being done of the mentors to ensure the safety of the children.

"It has been mentioned in the response that registration process includes psychometric tests of the mentees [sic] before they are accepted into the program. Is this Psychometric Test analyzed/checked/scrutinized by professional practicing experts? Can this Psychometric Test identify Pedophiles or potential Pedophiles?" the NCPCR asked.

While the Delhi government stressed that the mentorship programme is based on connecting mentors to mentees through phone calls, the NCPCR said that many child-related crimes can start through phone calls. "For instance, children are susceptible to probable child trafficking through phone calls. Is there any mechanism to prevent the origin of cybercrimes and child trafficking?" it asked.

And while the Delhi government has said that no child can enrol in the mentorship programme without their parents' consent, the child rights body insisted that the responsibility and accountability of preventing children from such situations lies with the department. "The consent of parents cannot be used as a cushion in case of any untoward incident," the Commission said, seeking a compliance report within a week.