Men below the age of 50 not fit to teach Haryana girls: Education minister

Men who are yet to hit 50 are too young to teach girls in Haryana's government schools.

State education minister Ram Bilas Sharma, known for his controversial remarks and decisions, has said male teachers in their forties or younger should not opt for jobs at girls' schools, a move purportedly linked to women's safety.

"The educational institutions for boys and girls were the same in the past and were separated following the recommendations of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. He has written in his book Satyarth Prakash that schools of boys and girls should be different and it was followed across the country," Sharma said.

GIRLS SHOULDN'T GET DISTRACTED

Sources say the decision is based on the "natural Hindu philosophy of life" where a girl after a certain age needs special precautions and also on fears that they may be attracted towards their teachers. Sharma, an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), maintains the idea is to create a healthy atmosphere for girls so they are not "distracted".

PREVIOUS ROWS

The minister sparked a massive row last month when the state education department, on his orders, issued a directive to schoolteachers asking them not to wear jeans to work. The logic was that teachers are expected to be role models for students and must display "discipline" and "propriety" in what they wear.

Three years ago, when Congress president Sonia Gandhi came to inaugurate an autism centre in the state, the BJP leader called it a "mental hospital".

THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE MOVE

"Running girls schools and colleges is a very tough and responsible job for any state government. Girls after a certain age need special precautions and we need to take action on every aspect to make a foolproof and secure education system for them," Sharma said.

"Any teacher who did not complete 50 years as on June 30, 2016, should not opt for girls' schools. Even if any teacher still opts for girls' schools, he would not be considered for transfer, according to the policy."

The education minister, however, said the guidelines were not based on the assumption that male teachers have malicious intent and were, in fact, an effort to create a healthy environment inside educational institutions.

"There is no misapprehension on the part of the state government about discriminating between boys and girls. As we have a large number of schools only for girls, we have to think about the age of teachers as well," he said.

Sharma said the move will only be implemented in schools.

"There is no need to apply such a decision at the college level as girls' colleges mostly have female teachers. We have prioritised the transfer of female professors in girls colleges and we will do the same at high and middle school level," the Haryana minister said.

HARYANA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM - AN RSS LAB

Critics, who termed the step "short-sighted", say since the BJP came to power in Haryana two years ago the state's education system has turned into an RSS laboratory. A decision to incorporate teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas, apart from importance of yoga, in books on moral education for Classes VI-XII has triggered a debate.

CONGRESS REACTS

The move to ban jeans for teachers was withdrawn after the state government faced widespread criticism.

The age bar for male teachers drew contrasting reactions from the opposition Congress.

Former state minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav said, "There is no harm in implementing such guidelines. Teachers over 50 years of age are more mature to tackle grievances of girl students."

State Congress president Ashok Tanwar, however, said the decision represented the BJP government's "discriminatory" mentality.

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