THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A passage in the English paper of CBSE Class X first term examination, that seems to support regressive notions on family and allegedly promotes gender stereotyping, has turned controversial. While a section of students and teachers found the passage highly inappropriate for Class X students, another section found the questions accompanying them tough and confusing.
“What people were slow to observe was that the emancipation of the wife destroyed the parent’s authority over children,” the passage in ‘reading’ section says. Another sentence that students and teachers found objectionable was: “It was only by accepting her husband’s sway that she (wife) could gain obedience from the young.”
“At a time when the need for gender sensitisation at an early age is being stressed by educators, presenting such regressive passages before teenage children undermine the concept of gender equality,” said an English teacher of a CBSE school in Thiruvananthapuram.
Following the passage, one of the objective-type questions asked was whether the writer “seems to be a male chauvinist pig (sic) or an arrogant person.” While the regressive notions in the passage prompted many students to select that option, the marking scheme released by the CBSE later said the correct answer was that the writer “takes a light-hearted approach to life.”
“The questions that followed the passage were asked in a convoluted manner that a student had to spend at least 10-15 minutes to understand them,” rued a parent. Though the questions were in the objective format, the paper was set in a pattern that was confusing for students, she added.
Class X CBSE students also had a tough time with the mathematics paper earlier. While the exam was for one and a half hours, the questions took around two to two and a half hours to solve, the students complained.