Punjab To Begin Gender Sensitisation Project In Government Schools

The School Education Department of Punjab has decided to start a Gender Sensitisation Project in all the government school in the state.

The project is being launched for the students of standard six to eight for the academic year 2021-2022 and it will be implemented in all government schools across the state. The main aim of the Gender Sensitisation Project is to sensitise students in various ways, the official said.

The department of Education claimed to have been making continuous efforts in order to raise the standards of students under the leadership of Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla. According to a spokesperson of the School Education department, the government has decided to start this project as part of these efforts.

All the District Mentors (DMs) will be acting as the Master Trainers of the "Welcome Life" project and the Block Mentors (BMs) will be the master trainers for the Gender Sensitisation Project. The "Welcome Life" project has already started, while the Gender Sensitisation project is being planned.

For the projects, the DMs and the BMs will receive online training in the form of different batches which will start from April 19 to April 30. The timing for the training will be from 10 am to 4 pm.

What does Gender Sensitisation mean?

When we talk about Gender Sensitisation, it means that the modification in the behaviour of parents and teachers towards children can have a casual effect on the idea of gender equality among them. To gender sensitise is to bring about a change in a person's behaviour and to bring empathy to their own and other genders.

Why should Gender Sensitisation be important in schools?

Gender Sensitisation should be a requirement in school and college campuses because it helps to understand the sensitive needs of each gender. It also helps us to identify our own attitudes and internal beliefs and question the "realities" that we think we know. Education has always been a catalyst for change, hence, Gender Sensitisation in school campuses can be an effective step towards gender equality.