Students of a Kerala school in the Palakkad district have been instructed not to address teachers as sir’ or ma’am’, but instead as ‘teacher,’ which is gender-neutral. Among the first in the state to implement such a directive is Senior Basic School at Olassery village, which has 300 students, nine female teachers and eight male teachers. The decision to adopt gender-neutral uniforms for children in Kerala was taken after several schools in the state did so.
What led to the Kerala school’s decision?
According to reports, the idea to address teachers with gender-neutral terms was first suggested by a male teacher who was inspired by the work of a social activist in Palakkad — Boban Mattumantha – who is campaigning to end the practice of addressing government officials as ‘sir’.
Additionally, the Mathoor panchayat, located 14 km from the Kerala school, had opted to drop the practice of calling its staff by their names instead of referring to them as sir and ma’am. In response to these two cases, the school introduced gender-neutral addresses for teachers. After some initial inhibition, parents and students alike reacted positively to the initiative. The new way to address teachers may help students become more aware of social justice issues.
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