A.P. textbooks revised to challenge gender stereotypes, says HRD Minister Lokesh

Andhra Pradesh has revised school textbooks to challenge gender stereotypes and inculcate respect for women among children from an early age, says HRD Minister Nara Lokesh.

Textbooks for Classes I and II have earlier predominantly portrayed women performing household chores. “The revised textbooks depict men and women sharing household responsibilities equally, with 50% of the chores assigned to each, to discourage gender stereotyping from the early years,” Mr. Lokesh said while speaking at a fireside chat organised by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Minister said school education was particularly close to his heart and that his frequent visits to schools reflected his interest in working with children. The government was working towards ensuring ‘one class, one teacher’, with the proportion of schools meeting the standard rising from 3% when he assumed charge to 33% now, he said.