THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When revised textbooks reach state syllabus schools in the upcoming academic year, the Malayalam textbook — ‘Kerala Paadavali’ — for Class 4 is sure to stand out. All the illustrations in the book have been drawn exclusively by girl students and women.
The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT), which oversees the curriculum revision, came up with the novel idea as a women empowerment initiative.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty welcomed it as a new chapter in the history of the state’s textbook design sector, which is considered male-dominated.
The 10-member team of illustrators included two students — Ananya S Subhash and Biyaanka Jenson — along with teachers and professional artists. While Biyaanka, a differently abled student, was chosen from an SCERT camp to prepare textbook illustrations last November, Ananya had been a participant in the camp in its previous editions.
What makes the textbook unique is the careful selection of illustrations that are aimed at stimulating the imagination of children in the 9-10 age group. The all-female team was encouraged to experiment with various styles and colours supplementing the corresponding matter in the text.
SCERT initially had plans to entrust illustrations for the Class 4 and 6 Malayalam textbooks exclusively to girl students and women. However, the plan was restricted to Class 4 as lower primary textbooks need more illustrations compared to other classes.
In 2023, students of the Government Model Residential School, Wadakkanchery, Thrissur had painted on stones and turned them into works of art. The stones they painted were featured on the cover of the revised Art Education Activity book of Class 5 last year.