WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF TEACHERS’ TRAINING, EDUCATION
PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION
GANGADHARPUR SIKSHAN MANDIR
Course-2.2.2 – Sociological Perspectives of Education
SEMINAR PRESENTATION
EDUCATION FOR
TRANSGENDER
By-
POULOMI MANDAL
M.ED. Semester-II
Roll Number- 52
Session- 2017-19
EDUCATION
FOR
TRANSGENDER
Our responsibility towards a section of the
population that is highly misunderstood…
Transgender people are those who have
a gender identity or gender expression
that differs from their assigned sex.
---------Wikipedia
RIGHTS FOR THE TRANSGENDER
Right to Equality under Article 14.
Article 15 speaks about the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of religion, caste, sex or
place of birth.
Article 21, ensures right to privacy and personal dignity to all the citizens
and
Article 21 (A) ensures education is a fundamental right to every Indian.
In view of the constitutional guarantee, the transgender
community is entitled to basic rights i.e. Right to Personal Liberty, dignity, Freedom of expression,
Right to Education and Empowerment, Right against violence, Discrimination and exploitation and
Right to work. Moreover, every person must have the right to decide his/her gender expression
and identity, including transsexuals, transgenders, hijras and should have right to
freely express their gender identity and be considered as a third
sex.” –Supreme Court
Transgender people and their
challenges
• Transgender people in India face many hurdles and atrocities:
• Not treated equally
• Looked down as degraded and unworthy to live
• Raped and abused
• Forced to leave Parental Home if identified as Transgender
• People do not behave or act normally in their presence or with them
• People associate them with child kidnapping
• People associate them with prostitution
• They do not have access to education and healthcare
• We probably don’t even consider them a part of the society.
Transgender Issues in Education
1.Safety on Campus
2. Non-Discrimination Policies
3. Gender Designation on College Record
4. Restrooms
5. Access to Healthcare
Status of Transgender Education
• Hardly any formal education as they have restricted access to schools
• They are mostly illiterate or undereducated
• Average qualification is secondary or higher secondary for those who got the
chance
• Even if admitted to school, they are bullied or forced to drop out.
Census data reveals that this community has low literacy levels, just
46 per cent transgenders are literate, compared to 74 per cent
literacy in the general population.
Still, there are some good news to inspire us
There are examples of Transgender people getting what they truly
deserve:
Manabi Bandopadhyay became the first Indian to complete Doctor of Philosophy. Became
the principal of Krishnanagar Women’s College in 2015.
Amruta Soni is the first transgender to be appointed as an advocacy officer for HLFPPT
(Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust) for three states and a Union Territory.
How to Improve the Situation?
• Support from Friends/Family
• Create Opportunities and Support in Your Community
• Create Fair Workplaces
• Improve Schools
• Pass and Enforce Laws and Policies
• Fix Health and Social Service Systems
• Educate Court Systems
Steps taken for improving the
situation
• Work for the betterment of transgender people.
• Tamil Nadu has a social welfare program for these people where they can avail
• Free Sex Re-assignment Surgery
• Free housing program
• Citizenship documents
• Admission in Government colleges with full scholarship for higher studies
• Source of income via formation of self-help groups and income generation programs
• Tamil Nadu set up a Transgender Welfare Board in 2008
• Tamil Nadu also set up a telephone helpline for Transgender people in 2009
• The Chhattisgarh government is making efforts for the welfare for around 3000 Transgender
people in the state.
• Tripura Government has a monthly allowance program
• In October, 2015 the West Bengal government requested Kolkata police to recruit
Transgender people as Civic Police Volunteers
Solution for educating the
Transgender people
• Efforts for Inclusion
• Names/Pronouns
• Appropriate Rest-room facilities
• Confidentiality
• Financial Assistance
• Anti-discriminatory Cells
• Research
CONCLUSION
“The biggest lacuna in the system is that nobody
knows the real definition of a transgender.
Sensitisation will not help until people are ready to accept change and acceptance can
come only through education.”
LIVE AND LET LIVE!
Thank you! /
References:
Wikipedia
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-problems-faced-by-
transgender-people-in-India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
National_Legal_Services_Authority_v._Union_of_India
http://euroasiapub.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2ESSNov-
4296.pdf
http://blog.urbantreehomes.com/transgender-activist-amruta-
alpesh-soni-story
