Valayanchirangara Government Lower Primary School in Kerala becomes the first to adopt gender-neutral uniform for its students. The institute chose shorts over skirts, and parents laud the progressive move in the village, situated in Ernakulam district. The gender-neutral uniform was introduced for students of all classes in the school. As per reports, girls are too thrilled to get the shorts over their bulky skirts. Making it's uniform gender-neutral, the 104-year-old school reportedly wanted to promote the idea that government institute is as good as private.

Gender-neutral uniform in the recent past has been adopted by schools in the United Kingdom. In a more challenging way, the boys were allowed to wear skirts. India, where government schools mostly have salwar-kameez as the uniform for girls, the recent move to adopt gender-neutral is equally progressive. Valayanchirangara Government Lower Primary School has an all-woman teaching and support staff.

While announcing the move of keeping shorts for both the genders, the headmistress, Raji C told the Hindu, “This is particularly convenient for girls who can play easily now. We were initially worried about the reaction from parents who might want their girls to continue wearing skirts. But most parents have welcomed the idea.” The report further highlighted that the young girls were “excited” to see the pockets attached to their shorts. Meanwhile, the number of students at the school has also increased, reportedly from 609 in 2015 to 681 at present.

With such developments, Kerala stands as an inspiration to many states, which are yet to adopt a gender-neutral approach. The state is also the first to install sanitary pad vending machines at the schools for the benefit of the students. We also hope, that other states take a cue from Kerala and adopt a gender-neutral approach in its schools.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2019 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).