Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow University will introduce a diploma and certificate course from the new academic session on ‘garbh sanskar’, which will teach its students about motherhood.
The proposed course will have lessons on what a pregnant woman should eat, wear, how she should behave, and keep herself fit. The course will also teach students about the kind of music suitable for pregnant women and is reportedly aimed at generating employment.
‘The step has been taken after state Governor Anandiben Patel, who is also the chancellor of state varsities, proposed that the administration train girls for their prospective role as mothers,’ said Durgesh Srivastava, a spokesperson of Lucknow University.
Last year during the convocation, Patel had mentioned about Abhimanyu from the Mahabharata who had learnt warfare while he was in his mother’s womb. She had also mentioned that Germany had implemented such a course.
According to the officials, the guidlines have been laid down from the course which will teach 16 values.
The officials said that the programme emphasizes on family planning and nutrition value. Several workshops will be conducted as a part of the course, the officials said.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor Professor AK Rai told The Times Of India that this course will help women to gain knowledge about the right conduct from the time she conceives till the time she delivers a baby.
However, university’s former Vice-Chancellor Professor Roop Rekha Verma said that the introduction of such a course would assert that ‘only women have motherhood responsibility.’ She said that such a belief was the main cause of discrimination.
