Parents in the Russian city of Perm are protesting a decision by a secondary school to lower the admission standards for boys and to require higher marks for girls to join classes.
Svetlana Denisova, the Perm region's ombudswoman for children, is also raising concerns about the decision, calling it "discrimination by gender" and telling parents they should file complaints with the regional prosecutor's office.
Parents raised the complaints on May 22 through a Perm-based online news portal called 59.ru
They say 6-year-old girls trying to enter the first grade of Gymnasium No. 4 were required to accumulate 69.1 points during their preparatory classes, while boys were only required to have 65.7 points for admission.
Denisova on May 22 demanded that city's Department of Education explain why young girls were being held to a higher standard for admission than boys.
The 59.ru website quotes the school's principal, Tatyana Dyakova, as saying the decision was made because girls "usually study more diligently than boys," but "boys become leaders and rule the nation later."
Dyakova was also quoted as saying the approach helped the gender balance of the school, where there were applications from 92 girls and 67 boys this year.
Perm's Department of Education says Gymnasium No. 4 is considered to be one the best secondary schools in Perm.
In 2018, the school was embroiled in a scandal after teachers banned a teenage girl, Zina Agisheva, from attending her classes because she had dyed her hair pink.
In October 2018, a court in Perm ruled that the school violated Agisheva's rights. The court fined the school 50,000 rubles ($780) and fined Dyakova 30,000 rubles ($465).
