Transgender education system: An Overview.

Author: Ms. Saloni Ratra, Amity Law School, Noida.

INTRODUCTION

Student rights are those rights, such as civil, constitutional, contractual and consumer rights, which regulate student rights and freedoms and allow students to make use of their educational investment. These include such things as the right to free speech and association, to due process, equality, autonomy, safety, and privacy, and accountability in contracts and advertising, which regulate the treatment of students by teachers and administrators. There is very little scholarship about student rights throughout the world. In general, most countries have some kind of student rights (or rights that apply in the educational setting) enshrined in their laws and proceduralized by their court precedents. Some countries, like Romania, in the European Union, have comprehensive student bills of rights, which outline both rights and how they are to be proceduralized. Most countries, however, like the United States and Canada, do not have a cohesive bill of rights and students must use the courts to determine how rights precedents in one area apply in their jurisdictions.

ARTICLES RELATING TO RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN INDIA

There are some changes regarding the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution. In 1976 our constitution was amended in many of its fundamental provisions. Under the Constitution of India, the Central Government has been specifically vested with several educational responsibilities.

1. Free and Compulsory Education:

The Constitution makes the following provisions under Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy that, “The state shall endeavor to provide within ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.

 2. Education of Minorities:

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution relates to certain cultural and educational rights to establish and administer educational institutions.

4. Education for Weaker Sections:

Article 15,17,46 safeguard the educational interest of the weaker section of the Indian Community, that is, socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. 

LGBT RIGHTS IN INDIA

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in India may face legal and social difficulties not experienced by non-LGBT persons. Over the past decade, LGBT people have gained more and more tolerance and acceptance in India, especially in large cities.[3] Nonetheless, most LGBT people in India remain closeted, fearing discrimination from their families, who might see homosexuality as shameful. Discrimination is still present in rural areas, where LGBT people often face rejection from their families and forced opposite-sex marriages.

Sexual activity between people of the same gender is legal. Although same-sex couples are not legally recognized currently by any form, performing a symbolic same-sex marriage is not prohibited under Indian law either. On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality by declaring Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. Homosexuality was never illegal or a criminal offense in ancient Indian and traditional codes but was criminalized by the British during their rule in India.

International relations regarding LGBT rights in India has also been shown to be a significant driver of policy shifts. These shifts and the reasoning behind them have proven to be a convoluted field for international scholarly debate.

Since 2014, transgender people in India have been allowed to change their gender without sex reassignment surgery, and have a constitutional right to register themselves under a third gender. Additionally, some states protect hijras, a traditional third gender population in South Asia, through housing programs, welfare benefits, pension schemes, free surgeries in government hospitals and other programs designed to assist them. There are approximately 4.8 million transgender people in India.

DISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS

Article 15 of the Constitution of India states that:[67]

15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth

(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition concerning

(a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or

(b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public

In the case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, the Supreme Court ruled that the Indian Constitution bans discrimination based on sexual orientation via the category of “sex”. Similarly in the case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination based on gender identity is constitutionally prohibited.

Despite these constitutional interpretations, no explicit law has been enacted to ban discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. Indeed, India does not possess comprehensive anti-discrimination laws for discrimination and harassment in private employment, except for sexual harassment. Article 15 only extends to discrimination from the state or government bodies.[68] Currently pending, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 would ban discrimination against transgender people in areas such as private employment, education, and healthcare (see below for more details).

LGBT activists are encouraging people who have faced discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in private employment or other non-state areas to mount challenges in court,[60] seeking to test the jurisprudence set by the two rulings. They are also campaigning for an explicit anti-discrimination law that would extend to private discrimination.

Military service 

LGBT people are banned from openly serving in the Indian Armed Forces.[69] In late December 2018, MP Jagdambika Pal (BJP) introduced a bill to the Indian Parliament to amend the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957 and the Air Force Act, 1950 and allow LGBT people to serve in the Armed Forces.[70]

 Things are done in recent for  Education of transgender 

1. In October 2017, the Karnataka Government issued the “State Policy for Transgenders, 2017”, to raise awareness of transgender people within all educational institutions in the state. Educational institutions will address issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination against transgender people. It also established a monitoring committee designed by investigating reports of discrimination.

2. In October 2017, the Karnataka Government issued the “State Policy for Transgenders, 2017”, to raise awareness of transgender people within all educational institutions in the state. Educational institutions will address issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination against transgender people. It also established a monitoring committee designed by investigating reports of discrimination.

3. In February 2019, the Maharashtra government set up a “Transgender Welfare Board” to conduct health programs and provide formal education and employment opportunities to transgender people. The board provides skill development programs to help transgender people find a job and free accommodation for those seeking scholarships.[102] A similar board was also set up in the neighboring state of Gujarat that same month. The Gujarat board provides various welfare programs for employment and education and coordinates with state departments to ensure that the transgender community can take advantage of government schemes. An educational campaign was also established to sensitize the public

Cases Relating to transgender education 

Although the exact number of trans women attending women’s colleges nationwide is unknown, responses to the revised admissions policies have garnered mixed reactions over the past four years. Mills College, the first women’s college to welcome trans students, reports approximately 8% of over 700 undergraduate students to identify as transgender.[9]Despite the low visibility of trans women at women’s colleges, these institutions continue to face backlash and criticism, specifically from alumnae, who often believe the policies disregard and veer away from the core mission and purpose of women’s colleges. Although the majority of alumnae, current students and the institutions themselves agree women’s colleges were created to educate and empower women, the discrepancies in defining and labeling womanhood fuel the differences in opinions and the revised policies themselves.[8]

Furthermore, with the introduction and adoption of trans-inclusive admissions policies on these campuses, additional challenges include the day-to-day implementation of the policy, such as adequately providing academic and residential resources for trans students while ensuring a welcoming and inclusive collegiate environment.[10] Trans students even face the possibility of potential physical harassment and other forms of discrimination on traditional college campuses.

CONCLUSION

By seeing the growing number of cases related to the demand of transgender to be admitted in school and colleges. colleges are changing their policies and granting them their fundamental right which is right to a dignified life and the right to education.