Global IssuesINDIA: Teacher Training For Gender Sensitive Schooling
Four years ago, the National Council of Educational Research and Training, a premier educational institution, laid down a new curriculum, radically changing the content of textbooks, particularly in social sciences, in Indian schools.
But researchers and policymakers say schoolteachers, woefully lagging behind in their training, are not doing justice to gender-sensitised textbooks.
'Teachers' training is a huge limitation in the way of properly implementing the new curriculum. The curriculum has changed but the Bachelor for Education (B.Ed) syllabus has not,' says Dipti Bhog, researcher with Nirantar, a voluntary organisation.
The teachers' training institutions are neither equipped with an upgraded, gender sensitised curriculum; nor are the trainers familiar with the new concepts. Even though teachers training colleges are multiplying by the dozen, the training is inadequate, especially in the light of the demands made by the new curriculum. 'The teachers themselves do not understand the concepts. So how can they teach them to the students?' asks Bhog. Anita Rampal, professor in Delhi University’s Education Department however regards the gap between the new curriculum and teachers' training not as an obstacle but a 'challenge'. 'I would call it a 'challenge' rather than an obstacle. It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed but it is part of a process that began with the change in curriculum and reached a watershed with the passage (Nov. 4) of the Right to Education Bill (RTE),' says Rampal. 'It will thus be mandatory for the government to upgrade teachers' training in the light of RTE, on this and other grounds so that teachers actually understand what it means to provide a child friendly and non-threatening learning environment for all children,' Rampal emphasises. How does the government plan to meet this challenge? Both the government and NCERT seem to be giving it high priority. Recently the NCTE proposed an 'open and distance learning' mode for the orientation of one million new teachers across the country, but it was rightly stressed by many that quick fix solutions must not be sought. 'The RTE provides a historic occasion to rethink and restructure teacher education, which has not addressed issues of quality and equity, and not sensitised teachers to how the school deals with discrimination and difference - related to gender, caste, socio-economic background, religion, etc. The RTE specifically has clause 8c to ensure that a child belonging to a weaker section or to a disadvantaged group 'is not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds',' according to Rampal. Policymakers acknowledge teachers' training has remained dreadfully inadequate, now more so in the context of the new curriculum and textbooks. A large number of teachers in the suburbs and villages are not fully trained. Many states, particularly Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, are heavily dependent on para teachers. Many of them are 7th and 8th grade students, paid much less than fully qualified teachers.
'The issue of inadequate training is a matter of serious concern. Gradually the states need to address this issue. It is true, that the training imparted through our teacher training institutes is also inappropriate. But no training and poor training are not answers. There is a need to think afresh about the training needs of these teachers. Academic support systems also need strengthening,' observed a report of the central government.
Against this backdrop the instructors are trying to deal with gender-sensitised textbooks, aiming to construct knowledge differently. While the lessons have been drawn up within a feminist perspective, the teachers who have to explain it to the students, have little or no understanding of it.
The construction of gender in knowledge dissemination has undergone change not only in schools, also in colleges and universities, believes Asha Singh, who teaches in Lady Irwin College, the only college in Delhi to offer full-fledged BA and MA degrees in Home Science. 'But social attitudes are still reinforcing stereotypes,' she points out.
For instance, her students still believe that working mothers because of lack of time are not able to pay proper attention to the children. 'There has definitely been a change in the curriculum but social attitude is still a major hindrance,' says Singh.
The educational system turned a page in 2005 when NCERT rectified the chronic gender flaws in textbooks, at least in some of the disciplines. Prior to this textbooks carried stereotypical images of women - portrayed mostly as cooking, washing, doing domestic chores. The men were shown active, engaged in the world outside. For instance, the images would show the father working in office, the mother nurturing the children at home.
Following the curriculum changes the NCERT textbooks for the 7th grade have woven gender into the larger framework of day-to-day life. For instance through narratives, comic strips among other forms, the textbook puts women in relation to India's constitution, its media, minority populations, Dalits, the lowest in India’s caste hierarchy.
From the '70s an effort began to overhaul the stereotypical gender images. In alliance with Delhi University's Women's Study Centre, the NCERT laid down gender-sensitisation guidelines in the '80s. 'But even then there was no change in content. What we got was a framework of 'great women' like Rani of Jhansi or Sarojini Naidu (who fought the British in different eras). Women were 'added on' rather than intersected with other identities - caste and class,' says Bhog.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service