HC shocked over NCERT having pulled down transgender manual from its website

Says no one can be allowed to arm twist a State run council

The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed shock over National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) having been forced to pull down from its website a teaching manual aimed at sensitising school teachers and administrators towards addressing the needs of transgender children and those with binary identities.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, who had taken up a case to provide recognition to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and such other (LGBTQIA+) community in all walks of life, said NCERT had taken a very important step by coming up with a training manual for teachers who act as a bridge between children and parents.

Sensitisation has to start from schools and home, and without family support, children belonging to this community would never be able to get support elsewhere. Ignorant parents could be sensitised only by the teachers. Therefore, NCERT had rightly brought out the material, after a thorough research by a committee, to sensitise teachers on this issue.