In a move to promote a sense of equality among students, Andhra Pradesh government has asked educational institutions to stop the practice of mentioning caste and religion of students in the attendance registers.

In a circular, Director of School Education Department, Vadrevu Chinaveerabhadrudu, has directed the schools to remove the students’ caste and religion mentioned in their attendance registers, according to a report by the Hindu.

The department has also asked educational institutions not to write the names of girls in red link, a practice being followed in many schools of the state. It is noteworthy that many schools write the names of boys in blue ink and the name of girls in red ink, which many believe, encourages gender discrimination.

Ending casteism, gender discrimination

To ensure that the directions are implemented in letter and spirit, the director has asked the Regional Joint Directors of the department and the District Education Officers (DEOs) to ensure that practices be stopped and the registers are maintained in a uniform pattern.

Andhra Pradesh is planning to reopen schools from November 2 and the school education department has issued an order, asking a minimum of 50% of the teachers to attend duty. Schools were closed in view of rising cases of coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Several practices are prevalent in schools across India that, activists say, encourage and promote casteism and gender discrimination.

Last year, Tamil Nadu government issued a circular, asking senior officials of school education department to identify and take action against the schools where students were made to wear wrist bands of various colours to identify their castes.

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