The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released a new draft module for school staff, highlighting the challenges faced by transgender students. The new module also recommends measures to achieve a more inclusive environment at schools. Some of the suggestions include regular workshops, outreach programmes, and gender-neutral school uniforms.
Titled “Integrating Transgender Concerns in Schooling Processes”, the module has been designed to address transgender concerns and suggests pedagogical strategies and school activities for an inclusive environment. It is aimed at dispelling myths around the transgender community “with specific reference to the individuals having socio-cultural identities.
Among the number of suggestions, the module also recommends introducing gender-neutral uniforms that do not conform to a particular gender. It states that some students of class six and onwards have different preferences for clothes, including school uniforms, and do not feel comfortable in a particular dress. The module further says that students in many schools already wear pants and shirts that are not only comfortable but also suit any gender.
The draft module underlines some challenges that transgender persons come across in schools. These include emotional, physical, and behavioural trauma, coming to terms with their own sexuality, use of washrooms and uniforms, mocking and bullying, sexual abuse and molestation, and choosing a character or role in a school play.
To address these issues and help such students overcome the challenges, the module recommends that outreach programmes can be organised through parent-teacher meetings while focusing on gender diversity while regular workshops should be conducted to spread awareness about gender-affirming practices and policies.
It stresses that there should be no discrimination based on gender in the appointment of various academic, non-academic, and housekeeping staff. The module suggests including the transgender category in application forms and in all the certificates for courses in educational institutions.
The bodies or committees formed to address ragging, bullying, and child sexual abuse in schools should also include another term – “preventing gender-based violation”, the module states. It suggests that such committees can include people from the transgender community along with teachers and school counsellors.
