A screenshot of a class 8 textbook has surfaced online and is as surprising as it gets amidst the marches carried out for the Kathua girl rape and murder case. The screenshot highlights a part of the textbook in which the paragraph states how to prevent child sexual abuse.
The Class 8 science textbook states that children should not wear provocative dresses among other things like they should not allow anybody to hug, pet or kiss them. Interestingly, it also tells children to be careful of the way they sit while also keeping safe distance from the opposite sex while travelling by public transport.
The shocking text is going viral and people cannot believe the extent to which the government textbook has gone to not address the real issue. Interestingly, it has been printing the textbook for the last 12 years and has only come to light in the recent context of rapes of both adults and children in the country. The textbook is printed under the Samacheer Kalvi (Balanced Education) system.
However, the officials have said that they were unaware of the issue and the text is old and has been printed over 12 years back. They have also consulted officials of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to provide their inputs on the subject. The official also stated that the government plans on introducing ‘progressive’ sex education from Class 6 in schools.