New Delhi: The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) Class 10 question paper of English has sparked controversy for the alleged promotion of "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notion". The board, which have faced a similar row earlier this month, referred the new matter to subject experts, PTI reports.
A comprehension passage in the question paper for the exam conducted on Saturday carried sentences such as "emancipation of women destroyed the parent's authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones" etc.
Multiple excerpts from the passage were flagged by many and criticised the CBSE for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions". Some excerpts were taken to social media, particularly Twitter users, with the hashtag "CBSE insults women".
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reacted on Twitter that teaching children such drivels is unbelievable. The BJP government is endorsing their retrograde views on women by featuring the same in the CBSE curriculum, she added.
Tamil Nadu Congress spokesperson Lakshmi Ramachandran criticised the question paper and demanded CBSE to give an explanation and an apology for inflicting children with the "outrageously nonsensical" text.
A Twitter user tweeted that the passage suggested children and servants must be taught their place, and women gaining independence destroyed parents authority over children. The entire passage was stupid, and the user wondered who those idiots who set question papers for CBSE are.
The Class 12 Sociology paper of CBSE had sparked a row earlier this month after it asked the students to name the party under which the "anti-Muslim violence" in Gujarat in 2002 occurred. The board had responded to criticism that the question was inappropriate and against its guidelines.