School admission of transgender kids is likely to become smooth as the Delhi administration has allowed reservation of seats for them in private schools under the quota for poor students.
Recognition of the needs of transgender kids by the government comes close to the Delhi University’s step earlier this year to acknowledge transgender students for the first time by introducing a column for a third gender in its application forms.
The rules for school admission of transgenders were modified under the Right to Child to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has now issued directions that a transgender child should be included in the category meant for a child belonging to disadvantaged group.
A senior official of the education department said the transgender kids will now be able to enjoy the benefit of 25 per cent reservation for poor student in all schools.
“Now even private schools will have to offer transgender students free education as they do in the case of poor students,” said a senior official.
Just as the Delhi University started admissions of transgenders in new post-graduate courses from the current academic session, the nursery admissions for school kids will also begin in the new session starting 2015-16.
Additional Secretary (Education) Madhu Rani Teotia issued the official order for school admissions for transgenders and circulated it among all additional directors.
“A copy of the decision taken by the city administration has also been sent to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry,” said an official.
Meanwhile, the Delhi University has also decided that transgenders will be encouraged to seek admission in undergraduate courses as well as the new application form in 2015-16 will give space to the third gender. At present, transgenders have been admitted only to post-graduate courses.
Even recruitment forms for university teachers have been modified to give recognition to the third gender category.As per the census of 2011, around 4.9 lakh people checked the third gender box in the survey. Uttar Pradesh has the most number of them at 1,37,000.
The census data also revealed the low literacy level in the community with just 46 per cent, compared to 74 per cent, literacy in the general population.
Activists believe the actual number of transgenders in the country is expected to be even 6-7 times higher than the 4.9 lakh figure.