modelling. Anglo-Indian women were being encouraged to
enter service industries. Make-up classes were called
'Cosmeticology Skills' . Cookery classes were known as
'Food and Nutrition Skills'. One Principal justified
the inclusion of cosmetic vocational
classes because the girls need to learn about
leisure. So, I offer it to them for a
job-skill, and they are happy. (45)
Among Anglo-Indian girls, a gender code of vocational
skills was being unconsciously accepted and encouraged. The
girl day students were also involved with many household
tasks, and found that needlework or cookery classes were
important because they could get jobs as servants. Anglo-
Indian men rely on their sporting activities to get jobs in
factories and mills. Their hockey, football and cricket
skills secured them positions on the team with subordinate
jobs .
Some Anglo-Indian women respondents stated quite
categorically, that the teachers expected them to fail and
. . . showed surprise that I passed the Class
XII examination. They really expected me to
flunk it. I'm a bit cynical about this
anyway, because they didn't help me one bit If
you try to do independent work, which is what
they did not teach you, they call you a
bombastic student. (46)
These failures and dropouts of more or less able children
has persisted.
An examination of the prize-day awards in four schools
supported these statements; that is, Anglo-Indians won
their prizes on the sport's ground or in the craft classes.
None of the English language prizes were awarded to
Anglo-Indians. In one school out of a total of twenty-two
278