Panaji: Directorate of Education has issued special guidelines to make its elementary schools “inclusive” of transgender students.
Deputy director of Education Santosh Amonkar in an circular issued has directed all the institutions to establish an anti-discrimination cell to monitor any form of discrimination against the transgender community.
Schools are been directed to give admission to all such students and the teachers are been asked to be sensitized regarding the issued related to transgender, their life and culture, psycho-social and emotional conditions, etc.
“The spirit of the Indian Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender,” Amonkar said in the circular, issued on December 15.
“Similarly, transgender children also have the right to education like other children from humanistic point of view they should be nurtured at fullest and it should be clear each and every person who is engaged in educational process at any level so that she or he could contribute in their education inclusively,” he added.
Amonkar said that it is the duty of administration and school management to ensure adequate environment in school campuses, because there are greater possibilities that different stigma might start to affect inclusion of transgender children as they had faced earlier.
“There is need to prepare an environment where transgender children feels secure,” officer said.
