New Delhi, Mar 20 (IANS): Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday launched an education mentoring programme aimed at providing mentorship for students in government-run schools in the national capital in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Launching the programme at Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW), Sisodia said the initiative would help students in government-run schools by providing mentorship in various courses - B.Tech, M.Tech, PhD and MBA.

He said under this programme, more than 200 students of IGDTUW would mentor more than 1,000 students studying in different Delhi government schools, especially girl students.

"With the education mentoring programme, the Delhi government wants to empower students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. We want our students, especially girls, to receive the right guidance which will help them build sustainable innovations. It is our vision that Delhi girls equally dominate the STEM sector," added Sisodia, who is also the Delhi Education Minister.

The Minister also asserted that though India has done some major innovations in every field of work, most of these innovations are mostly led by men.

The participation of women has been abysmal when it comes to innovation, especially in STEM.

"According to a study I recently came across women form only 33 per cent of the total workforce in research and innovation in STEM in South Asia," the Minister added.

Addressing the mentors who would be guiding Delhi government-run school girls Sisodia said, "If I have to speak about the enrolment rate of pre-primary and primary schools, nearly 21 lakh children are enrolled every year. However, only 10,000 girls take up STEM studies in higher education. Our students and teachers are continuously endeavouring to work hard in this field but we need to fill this gap. Therefore, your participation and mentoring will play a crucial role."