Education in India must be progressive

Education is the foundation that a civilised society is built on, with the quality of education directly linked to a country’s growth. And it is in this pursuit that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) found itself under fire on Friday. In the reading section of a class 10 exam held on December 11, passages (which students were to read and tick the right answers) were full of controversial statements that relegated women to subservient roles within the household, and even went so far as to blame feminism for indisciplined children. On Monday, CBSE issued a statement dropping the passage, awarding full marks to all students for the passage, and announced, later in the day, that it is setting up an expert committee to review the mistake — a move that seemed to be driven by the outrage generated by the passage, and accusations that CBSE was misogynistic and gender-insensitive. Congress president Sonia Gandhi even raised this issue in Parliament, asking the Centre and CBSE to apologise.

The issue boils down to this: How was a passage that is sexist, demeaning towards women, and (in the pursuit of knowledge) factually inaccurate, part of an exam? The ministry of education and CBSE have their work cut out for them: While conducting a thorough review is essential, it must also be reiterated — especially to young students — that these are not social norms that a progressive country such as India adheres to — or even agrees with. In the long-term, paying more attention to detail, especially regarding gender-sensitive issues, is needed. Education has the ability to help India move away from outdated patriarchal practices. For the women of tomorrow to know that they are equals to men, the foundation must be laid in school.