Government schools in Kerala are adopting a new gender-neutral curriculum

Newly revised textbooks for government and grant-aided schools in Kerala have been welcomed by teachers and students alike, with praise for promoting gender equality and challenging patriarchal norms in the curriculum.

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has revised the Malayalam textbook for Class 3, including an in-depth lesson on household chores. One of the photographs in the lesson shows a scene in a kitchen, where a man is grating coconut and a woman is standing at the stove. The photograph subtly aims to challenge the patriarchal norms by which women are usually expected to do kitchen chores.

There is another example in a third-grade English textbook: a picture of a father preparing snacks for his daughter in the kitchen and encouraging her to take them to school.

Christy Prakasia, who teaches Malayalam to primary students at a government school in Binanipuram in Ernakulam district, commented: “It’s a refreshing change. When we present such lessons in the classroom, students themselves notice that both parents share kitchen responsibilities equally. seeing it as a positive change.”

SCERT director RK Jayaprakash said the decision to conduct a comprehensive revision of the textbooks was taken last year on the need to update them after more than a decade with no changes.

Jayaprakash explained, “During the review process, we conducted numerous focus groups on various topics, including gender education. Recognizing the need to audit existing textbooks from a gender perspective, we developed a framework to take into account societal changes over the years. Our aim was to present concepts that go beyond traditional gender distinctions.”

He emphasized, “We found that images play a key role in textbook lessons because students gain significant knowledge from them. This led us to consider gender neutrality through visual representations.”

Last year, the state government reviewed textbooks for classes 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, with plans to review textbooks for classes 2, 4, 6 and 8 this year.

According to Jayaprakash, the Class 9 social studies textbook, which is expected to be distributed to students by October this year, will have a special lesson on gender justice, covering the judgments of the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court.

“Gender education is now a core element of the curriculum objective. Overall, we are pleased with the positive reception from the public. We will also spend the rest of the year collecting feedback from teachers,” he said.

Image Source: Hindustan Times