After the chaotic scene at Kirori Mal College, the venue of the UGC-NET examination on Sunday is caught in another controversy — on one of the questions asked in the paper some say ‘reflected gender stereotyping’. The people who took offence at the question have filed an online petition demanding the UGC to apologise and assure that it will not ask such questions in the future.
The question was framed as “At the primary school stage, mostly the teachers should be women as they (a) Can teach children better than men, (b) Know basic content better than men, (c) Are available on lower salary and (d) Can deal with children with love and affection.”
“This is very offending. It is an absurd question to ask to scores of aspirants both males and females at the university level. The question itself reflects prejudiced, sexist and highly patriarchal mindset. Coming from an institution that has been given the responsibility for certifying which select few are ‘eligible’ to teach, it is indeed serious and unacceptable. I was bound to attempt the question, but it disturbed me completely. Candidates who recognised such a question as offensive and may have registered a protest by leaving it blank, would lose marks and be deemed ineligible,” said Khaliq Parkar, a NET aspirant.
“We demand that those conducting the evaluation/marking of the answer sheets be instructed to keep this question aside, since it would be a travesty for the UGC to mark candidates on the assumption that any one of the answers is the ‘right’ one,” the petition signed by many emphasises.