Transgender Students Have A Right To Basic Education Too; Kudos To Kerala Govt For Recognising It

Posted: June 20, 2019

Transgender students often drop out at puberty once their gender issues surface and they face discrimination, and are deprived of basic education. Kerala is tried to correct this.

Recently the state government of Kerala has honoured 21 school dropouts who are transgender for passing examinations equivalent to class 10 and 12, under the Kerala Literacy Mission scheme (Samanwaya). This was truly heartwarming that they are being included in society like any other male or female without any hesitation.

Kerala Literacy Mission works primarily towards helping school dropouts complete their study. As a part of this they organized a programme where these transgender students were honoured by Kerala’s Education Minister, Professor C Ravindranath. The students were provided with free books and a monthly stipend.

India being a country with heavy the load of legacy and history, has not yet fully realized the harsh reality faced by the LGBTQ communities. We often ignore the fact we, as a society are responsible for their condition. They are largely being disowned by their own families and face humiliation from everywhere.

The main reason for their condition is lack of access to education and non-availability of jobs which finally leads them to begging and prostitution.

But I must say, some of them are strong enough to fight all the adversities and make their way to achieve their goals and dreams. Now it’s high time for them to fight back and make changes.

It takes hell lot of energy to deal with gender misalignment or dysphoria they face on an everyday basis. In spite of all this I feel very proud at this moment that our country is slowly recognizing the pulse of transgender people, and tries to understand about why they have become what they are.

In July 2018, Kerala had risen to history as being the first state to announce a transgender policy and already taken initiatives for the reservation of such students who are pursuing degrees in the Arts and Sciences. The government in the state has directed all state and affiliated universities to reserve two seats for transgender students in undergraduate and post graduate courses subject to fulfilment of qualification.

After long years of humiliation and intimidation, now they are being recognized as any normal human being and hereafter won’t face discrimination from any of the educational institutions as per the directions by the government of Kerala.

The literacy mission authority of Kerala state had (KSLMA) launched a continuing education programme called ‘Samanwaya’ for the education of trans people back in January 2018, which gives an open door of hope for them. While they face many atrocities in many other states Kerala stands apart and tries to uplift them as humans rather than a third gender which is highly appreciable.

This pure act of kindness from a part of our country must spread to all the parts and thus make everyone recognize that they too have the right to live, right to get proper education and live their life to the fullest like any of us! This is just a beginning.

Image source: YouTube

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