In MP, vocational courses in schools raise fears of reinforcing gender stereotypes

In government classrooms across Madhya Pradesh, the introduction of vocational courses has provided a study in student-parent choices regarding practical skills they choose to acquire in school. Students are calculating not just marks but travel distance, affordability, self-belief, and parental advice.

It may seem that a toss-up between beauty and IT will likely only reinforce gender stereotypes. But the reasons are sometimes more nuanced. “We have many subjects to choose but our school is providing only IT and beauty courses. I think I will be able to score more marks in beauty compared to IT so I chose beauty and wellness as my optional subject,” says Kriti Bansal, a 15-year-old student from Sandipani Vidyalaya.

Yet, overall, student decisions follow social familiarity. As the principal of Sandipani Vidyalaya Bilkisganj, Pawan Sharma observed, “There is free choice for all students, but most girls still prefer beauty while boys opt for technical trades. There are 40 girls in Beauty and Wellness class while 49 students of both genders enrolled for IT in our school.”

Sandipani Vidyalayas are government schools operating under the CM Rise initiative in Madhya Pradesh, a programme aimed at improving public education through better infrastructure, monitored teaching quality and career-oriented learning pathways. Within these campuses, vocational education has been embedded as a skill-based programme where students study trades alongside regular subjects, appear for examinations and receive certification recognised in their academic report cards

These schools are now offering vocational courses like Banking and Financial Services, Healthcare, Sports, Travel & Tourism, Telecommunications, Food Preservation and Agriculture, with new trades such as Plumbing, Sewing, and Machine Operation. The syllabus has been developed by the Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Vocational Institute and is being offered from Classes 9 to 12. By assigning 100 marks inclusive of practical assessment to vocational subjects, the CM Rise framework attempts to place skill learning at par with academics, turning schools into spaces that prepare students both for higher education and immediate employability.

Former Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Shanta Sinha said, “The proposal to introduce courses such as beautician training in Classes 9 to 12 is deeply troubling. It evokes an earlier era when Home Science, with its modules on cooking, laundry, stitching, and domestic accounting was offered to girls in high school, ostensibly to prepare them to become good wives. That model of education was withdrawn for being discriminatory and confining girls. “

She further mentioned, “The introduction of gender-coded vocational options today is no different in its underlying logic. It reinforces the stereotype that girls are naturally suited for appearance-based, care-oriented, or domestic roles, while boys are expected to pursue technology, engineering, and higher-paying professional pathways.”

“At a time when girls across India are outperforming boys in board examinations, entering STEM fields in increasing numbers, and aspiring to careers in science, administration, entrepreneurship, and public life, such regressive curricular options undermine their ambitions. Education policy must expand horizons, not narrow them,” said the former chairperson of NCPCR.

Practical considerations

For many students, the first calculation is not passion but scoring ability. Subjects are weighed not by future pathways but by immediate academic safety. “My home is nearby so I do not get bus services provided by school. I need to cover the distance to and fro by walking. If I choose a tough subject, I will not be able to score good grades, so I chose beauty,” adds Jyoti Uikey of Class 9 from Sandipani Vidyalaya.

Some students do not choose in isolation, they choose within advice networks like parents, neighbours, cousins, and community occupations. “My father questioned what will I do after studying IT. Like other girls if I take up beauty or stitching, I can get help from my friends, if I do not understand the subject,” said Simran Prajapati from Sandipani Vidyalaya Ashta.

Families push children toward what they understand because unfamiliar futures feel uncertain. For some, vocational education is not preparation, it is already employment. “I am already working as a mehendi artist and running a small venture besides studies. I learnt the craft from my sisters. Our school will give me a certificate and I don’t need to do an additional beauty course to open a salon,” said 15-year-old Saadia Akhtar.

Another student named Monika Chacko pitched in saying, “We are receiving hands-on training about products and how to handle customers… learning how to grow a skill into a business.”

Here, beauty and wellness is more about entrepreneurship. The course validates informal work that already supports families. The classroom formalises the economy students are living in.

For those students who opt for IT, technology is not just a subject. It offers physical, social and economic mobility. “In IT course we are learning basic computer skills. We will eventually graduate to using AI,” said Pallav Mahovia, a Class 12 student from a Sandipani Vidyalaya.

“I want to make an app that helps farmers in Madhya Pradesh,” said 14-year-old Pooja Soni with a twinkle in her eyes. A rare sight of a girl student in computer room.

Sometimes choice is neither stereotype nor aspiration — it is manageability. “I need to help my family. I took up plumbing because I already knew it,” says Gaurav Ahirwar who is re-appearing for Class 12 exam due to illness.

Policy makers

Speaking about how these trainings will help students in future, Sangeeta Thakur, Assistant Director CM Rise cell of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, said, “As the divisional head I can say that all the vocational courses will benefit students after they graduate from school. They can earn a living out of it. We do academic monitoring every year. The Directorate of Public Instruction in education sector (DPI) monitors the training. CM Rise schools are a part of it. We are only mediators who work with DPI and schools. We cannot talk about the syllabus as we do not frame it. We are here to execute.”

(Nibedita Sen is an independent journalist specialising in defence, with over 15 years of experience covering diverse topics like rural India, healthcare, education, and women’s issues.)

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Published – February 24, 2026 12:41 pm IST