Textbooks should be audited from the perspective of gender equality, gender justice and gender awareness, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.
In a statement here on Wednesday, the Minister said the foundations of a democratic and secular society were built on equality and justice. Society needed new ideas of equality between the sexes at this juncture. The government would consider including lessons that promoted gender equality in the curriculum.
Knowledge economy
The General Education Department fully accepted the Chief Minister’s remarks that as a modern society, Kerala should transform itself into a knowledge-based economy. That would be possible only if a new generation that was knowledgeable was nurtured. There would be no space for gender discrimination in such a society, he said.
School campuses should transform into spaces that could assimilate the ideas of gender equality and gender justice. For that to happen, there should be change in content and teaching-learning process. Checks should be made to examine if there were words and phrases that went against gender equality, and if need be, changes should be made. There should be a conscious attempt to improve strengths and overcome limitations.
All such things would be considered seriously when the curriculum was revised. Attempts would be made to ensure gender equality and gender justice, and preservation of Constitutional values, the Minister said.
