Don’t use headmistress, it is vulgar, says education officer
Abhishek.Choudhari@timesgroup.com
Nagpur : What’s in a name? Apparently a lot of controversy, if it ends with ‘ mistress ’. The word head mistress came under scrutiny during a recent meet between city school principals and education officials, with the latter suggesting that its use be disbanded.
Education officer Ravindra Katolkar told principals that ‘headmaster’ is the official term for the post, regardless of the incumbent’s gender. It is not uncommon for female principals of state board schools to use headmistress while referring to themselves. In many schools, even stationery and rubber stamps are have that designation.
Speaking to TOI, Katolkar said, “We all know what is the meaning of mistress. I told all heads of schools that it is not to be mentioned at all as an official designation. Apart from the vulgar meaning of mistress , there is a technical problem in its usage. ”
Katolkar explained that when it comes to state board affiliated schools, no termino- logy such as ‘headmistress’ or ‘principal’ exists. “Everyone is called headmaster till Std XII, if latter is attached to a school,” said Katolkar. “We really do not know when headmistress actually came in use, but now it is prevalent. Regardless, all of them now have to use the designation headmaster only,” he said.
Though no circular has been issued by his office, Katolkar said the verbal communication was enough. “This is not a new rule. The state sanctions the post as ‘headmaster’ and it is gender-neutral. Just like Pratibha Patil was called rashtrapati , the gender of the post’s occupant does not have any impact,” he said, adding, “A transgender may also head an institution. Will we then look for another term?”
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