Lok Sabha Question No. 3561 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-20
Subject: Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Behanan Benny

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3561 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2021

## Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education

## 3561. SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY: SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  reasons  to  remove  the  manual  titled  'Inclusion  of  Transgender  Children  in  School Education: Concerns and Roadmap' from the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) website;

- (b)  whether  the  Government  considers  it  important  to  sensitise  the  education  system  for Transgender children; and
- (c)  whether  the  NCERT  have  another  manual  for  teachers  on  building  sensitivity  towards Transgender children in school and if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a): The manual titled 'Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap' is a training material. It is an academic exercise which has to undergo various stages before it is made a public document and is used for training by different stakeholders.

(b) & (c): National Council of Educational Research and  Training  (NCERT)  has developed material including training modules for the capacity building of teachers on the issues related to gender in education. NCERT has been training teachers, teacher educators and school heads on gender sensitization with an all-inclusive approach. The concerns related to transgender children are addressed in different textual and training materials/manuals/modules.

Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  (DoSEL),  Ministry  of  Education  is implementing Samagra Shiksha which is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education. Samagra Shiksha reaches  out  to  girls, and  children  belonging  to  SC,  ST,  Minority  communities  and transgender. Further,  under  NISHTHA  (National  Initiative  for  School  Heads'  and  Teachers' Holistic Advancement), a nation-wide integrated teacher training program for teachers under Samagra Shiksha, teachers are trained for relevance of Gender Dimensions in Teaching and Learning Process which helps teachers to use and adopt learning activities that foster gender

sensitive classroom environment.

National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  also  identifies  transgender  children  as Socio-Economically  Disadvantaged  Groups  (SEDGs)  and  provides  for  equitable  quality education, inter-alia, for all such students.  This includes provisions for assisting transgender children  in  gaining  access  to  education,  support  for  community-based  interventions  that address local context-specific barriers to transgender children's access to and participation in education,  thereby  aiming  to  eliminate  any  remaining  disparity  in  access  to  education (including vocational education) for children from any gender or other SEDGs. All material produced by NCERT, including the said academic endeavors, are included appropriately in the National Curriculum Frameworks.

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