Andhra Pradeshs Nara Lokesh (R) speaks to NDTVs Vasudha Venugopal during the interview.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Human Resource Development Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Lokesh, has called for a sweeping review of school textbooks in the state, flagging what he described as "deeply embedded gender stereotypes" in early childhood education.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Lokesh said that primary school content often portrays women in limiting roles and reinforces traditional biases that should have no place in modern classrooms.
"In our Class 1, Class 2 textbooks, you will find women doing the household work and the man reading the newspaper. These are stereotypes," Lokesh said. "We are unconsciously reinforcing these roles in our children's minds."
The remarks come ahead of a state-wide initiative called Taliki Vandanam under the TDP's education outreach programme. Lokesh said his party, if elected to power in Andhra Pradesh, will take steps to ensure that the curriculum reflects "respect, equality, and neutrality" in how gender is represented.
The Education Reform
The push to reform textbooks is part of a wider education plan by the TDP, which has been sharply critical of the YSRCP government's handling of public schooling. Lokesh said the TDP is focused on both improving academic infrastructure and embedding social values early in the schooling system.
He also took aim at cultural language norms that subtly perpetuate gender biases.
"We've taught our teachers and parents that saying things like 'don't cry like a girl', or 'are you wearing bangles?' is very wrong," Lokesh said. "If a child cries, say 'don't cry like NTR', who never cried - make it gender neutral."
Such phrases, he argued, may seem trivial but have a lasting psychological impact on how children view themselves and others.
A Broader National Context
Gender representation in education has been an ongoing debate across India. The National Curriculum Framework 2023, introduced under the New Education Policy (NEP), acknowledges the need to make textbooks free from stereotypes, but implementation at the state level remains uneven.
In Andhra Pradesh, the issue has not seen large-scale public discourse until now.
Lokesh's comments are likely to resonate among educationists and child rights activists, especially as Andhra Pradesh prepares for its Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) 2.0, a state-wide outreach programme aiming to involve nearly 2 crore stakeholders.
The TDP, under Lokesh's leadership, appears to be positioning education not only as a policy priority but also as a space to redefine social norms.
