Mentoring scheme aims to keep boys on right track

An Auckland university is expanding a mentoring project to help boys through school.

AUT staff have developed the project which - after a successful six-month trial last year - is starting in six Auckland high schools for its first full year.

One hundred and fifty boys from Auckland Grammar, St Peters, St Pauls, Waitakere, Sacred Heart and Tamaki Colleges have been chosen by their schools to participate in the programme.

The programme, Males in Education Now (MEN), sets out to equip boys with skills, experiences and positive role-models so they don't give up on education before they gain valuable qualifications.

MEN co-ordinator Paul Tupou-Vea said some of the students participating in the programme were chosen because they worked hard last year and had shown leadership qualities.

Others were selected because they were good kids who might be led astray without the right guidance.

"MEN isn't just about reaching out to kids on the edge of expulsion or suspension, it's about preventing that sort of thing ever happening," said Mr Tupou-Vea.

"MEN aims to reconnect male students with a sense of purpose and focus, and that is something that all students need help with occasionally."