Kerala School Valayanchirangara Primary School Government introduces masculine, gender-neutral uniforms for gender equality

Valayanchirangara Public School in Kerala introduces gender neutral uniforms. (Represent)

Kochi:

When it comes to government efforts to ensure gender equity, the main concerns are those related to preventing crime or establishing gender-neutral restrooms. Kerala, however, has gone a step further and believes in a holistic approach to encourage gender neutrality in the state. And it wants to attract an important segment of the population, the most important of which are children.

So while part of the country supports a teacher training manual that aims to make the nation’s schools more sensitive and inclusive of all genders, the Leftist government in the state These southerners have stated that they will support the idea of ​​gender neutrality. school uniformsa concept that is perhaps hitherto unthinkable to students as well as to academia.

Valayanchirangara Government Lower Primary School, near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, home to 754 students, has taken the first step towards gender neutrality and introduced new uniforms for their students – shorts and 3/4 shirt, regardless of gender.

The new dress code was planned for 2018 and is in place in the elementary school district and this school year, as schools reopen following pandemic closures, it was open to all students.

Vivek V, the incumbent president of the PTA, who was also a member of the PTA executive committee in 2018 that made the decision, told PTI they want all children to enjoy the same degree of freedom.

“We have the support of our students and their parents. We want all students to have the same uniform so they can move around freely. This was first introduced in schools. Kindergarten class with about 200 students, Mr. Vivek said, the great success gives us confidence to roll it out to all other classes.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty said this is an admirable move by the LP school and that the government will promote such gender-inclusive activities.

“The ideas of gender equity, equality and awareness will be emphasized during curriculum reform. But these lessons need not be confined to textbooks. Admirable move by Valayanchirangara School LP Students of all genders will now wear the same uniform here – shorts and shirts,” V Sivankutty tweeted congratulating the school.

He said it was necessary to start a discussion in society about whether we need to continue separate schools for boys and girls.

“It’s time to start the social discussion about whether to continue building separate schools for boys and girls. The state government fully supports the idea of ​​unisex uniforms for students, this is it. a step towards ensuring gender equality”. Minister said.

He said necessary steps would be taken to include gender equality and equity in the school curriculum.

KP Suma, the school’s principal, said the students are excited about the new uniform and that the girls will now feel more comfortable and confident when participating in extracurricular activities.

“PTA discussed the proposal made by the academic board and then enlisted the help of a designer, Vidya Mukundan, to choose the design for the dress,” she said.

Vidya Mukundan, a designer at Kochi and an aspiring film producer, told PTI that the students’ parents initially had certain concerns including how the girls might use the house. toilet.

“My friend Binoy Peter, who served as the school’s academic chair and PTA president in 2018, told me about the decision to implement gender-neutral uniforms for children. Then we discussed this with teachers and students and designed this uniform,” said Ms. Mukundan.

After considering different designs, decided to increase the length of the shorts and made 3/4 for all students.

“The girls told us they felt very comfortable with the new uniform. This was initially done in preschool students. Later, after considering the positive response from parents and teachers, the school introduced it to other classes,” she said.

Schoolgirl uniforms also have pockets, she added.

One parent who didn’t want to be named told PTI that now her daughter doesn’t need to worry about participating in any physical activity like running or jumping or dancing or whatever.

“Our parents used to tell us to be careful when participating in certain activities including sports and dancing because skirts are not ideally suited for such activities. Now I am very happy for my daughter. I wouldn’t have to face the same circumstances as me and be able to partake in whatever she wants without having to worry about her outfit getting in the way,” she said.

The number of students enrolled in the school has steadily increased over the past five years. While the school’s strength stood at 609 in the 2015-16 school year, it grew to 681 students in 2018 and now has 754 students.

A senior Education Department official said it was government policy to encourage gender neutrality and would fully support any school that plans to introduce such gender neutral uniforms. However, a law regarding this issue has yet to be discussed.

Earlier this month, the Kerala government clarified that there is no law requiring teachers to wear sari with Higher Education Minister R Bindu saying that requiring such sari is not conducive to Kerala’s progressive attitude.

R Bindu has said that one’s outfit choice is a purely personal matter and no one has the right to criticize or interfere with another’s outfit choice.

In the second week of November, the Department of Higher Education issued a circular on the matter after many teachers complained that some educational institutions in the state continued to implement policing measures. so.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)