NEW DELHI, Jan 22, 2019 (BSS) – The Delhi government, in line with its
“inclusive” education policy, is going to introduce a curriculum to train its
teachers in handling the concerns of transgender students “sensitively”.
The curriculum will begin from the next academic year-April, 2019- aimed
at making its 1,100 schools “inclusive” for the transgender students,
according to the officials of Delhi government’s Directorate of Education
(DoE).
The curriculum will be designed by the State Council of Educational
Research and Training (SCERT), an autonomous body that conducts training
sessions and development programmes for school teachers in the city.
“The first step to make school campuses inclusive for transgender
students is to train teachers in handling their issues sensitively…It’s
ultimately the teachers who will deal with them first”, said Sanjay Goel, the
Director of DoE.
Considering the issue, he said that the DoE has decided to introduce a
training curriculum to sensitize teachers to deal with the transgender
students.
He, however, hinted for hiring expert as resource person to train
teachers in how to identify and handle the problems that transgender students
face in school campuses.
The teachers should be well trained in handling all these issues and make
students fell welcomes at the schools. Otherwise, it is not possible to
encourage transgender students to attend regular schools, Goel added.
Teachers, experts and NGO leaders here hailed the move saying the
curriculum would immensely help breaking the prevailing gender stereotypes.
India’s first transgender school named-Sahaj International- was opened in
Kochi in Kerala in December 2016. The school curriculum included skill
development programme along with examinations equivalent to class X and XII.
According to a survey conducted last year, across 15 private schools
here, with a total strength of 7,000 students and a sample population of 700,
19 % of the sample population identified as gender non-confirming and 30 %
experienced gender based bullying.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India gave a landmark judgment on April
15, 2014 declaring transgender people as a ‘third gender”.
It affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the constitution
will be equally applicable to transgender people, and gave them the right to
self-identification of their gender as male, female or third-gender.
This judgment also granted “reservation” in admission to educational
institution and job of the transgender people.