Lok Sabha Question No. 730 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-07
Subject: Bullying and Harassment in Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Balubhau (Alias Suresh Narayan) Dhanorkar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 730 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2022

## Bullying and Harassment in Schools

## 730. SHRI BALUBHAU ALIAS SURESH NARAYAN DHANORKAR:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any provisions have been made to sensitise teachers and school administration for the protection of children from sexual minorities from bullying and harassment;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  towards  providing  'equitable  quality education'  to  transgender  students  and  whether  the  same  has  been  done  for  children with different sexual and gender identities; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof, and if not, the reasons therefor?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) & (b): 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.

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.

In addition, 'Guidelines on School Safety and Security' developed by the Department, inter-alia, contain provisions for fixing the accountability of school management,  various  stakeholders  and  different  departments  in  ensuring  the  safety  and security  of  children  studying  in  Government  Schools,  Government-Aided  Schools  and Private Schools. These safety  guidelines envisage constitution of anti-bullying committees, Parent  Teacher  Associations,  School  Management  Committees  as  preventive  measures  to check such activities.

(c) & (d): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, entitles every child of age 6 to 14 years to a right to free and compulsory education in a neighborhood school till completion of elementary education. Section 8(c) of the RTE Act, 2009 provides that the appropriate government has to ensure that the children belonging to weaker sections or  disadvantaged  groups  are  not  discriminated  against  or  prevented  from  pursuing  and completing elementary education on any grounds.

National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  identifies  transgender  children  as  SocioEconomically 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.

Samagra  Shiksha,  an  overarching programme  for  the  school education sector extending  from  pre-school  to  class  XII,  aims  to  ensure  inclusive  and  equitable  quality education at all levels of school education.   It envisages the 'school' as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levelsand supports States and Union Territories in implementation of the RTE Act, 2009.  Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme. The  scheme  reaches  out  to  girls,  Children  with  Special  Needs  (CwSN)  and  children belonging  to  Scheduled  Caste  (SC),  Scheduled  Tribe  (ST),  minority  communities  and transgenders for an equitable and inclusive education.

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