BENGALURU: Teachers, ma-nagements and educationists are slamming the Home Department’s suggestion that schools hire only women to teach children up to Class 5.
The department has made the suggestion, among others, in the wake of campus crimes against children.“Why do you give it a gender colour instead of tightening the guidelines?“ said Shashi Kumar D, General Secretary of the Karnataka Private Schools Association.
Many managements feel male teachers are facing harsh scrutiny because of the recent spate of rapes. Both girls and boys are vulnerable to child sexual abuse, they said. “There are two sides to a coin. On what grounds are the police doing background checks of only male staff? Do they have any evidence that women don’t commit crimes?” said Rangalakshmi Srinivasa, principal, Basaveshwara School.
Legally Tenable?
If schools are packed with women staff and men are completely removed from primary education, that amounts to discrimination which is illegal, said Madhusudan R Naik, senior advocate.
The Constitution decrees there should be no discrimination on the basis of gender. So, no male teacher can be removed from his job just because he is male, he explained.
“But if the government feels hiring women is more conducive for learning, it is acceptable as long it doesn’t deprive men of opportunities,” he said.
He said in the long haul, background verification of all staff, irrespective of gender, should be done.
Dr C Gayathri Devi, principal of Little Flower Public School and secretary of the Karnataka ICSE Schools Association, offers a different view. “While I believe everyone needs to get a fair chance at employment, women teachers can better understand the needs of young children,” she said.
Mohammad Mohsin, Commissioner for Public Instruction, said, “The suggestion is not feasible. We don’t have any proposal of this nature.”