Of the many, many hurdles and challenges faced by members of the transgender community, one that truly holds them back from being wholly accepted in society is the lack of employment opportunities. This has everything to do with blatant discrimination and the overtly unaccepting nature of society because their intellect and potential is as competent as anyone else’s.
To initiate an attempt to tackle this, the State Department of Primary and Secondary Education of Karnataka has decided to reserve 1 per cent of the jobs in the teaching sector for members of the transgender community. This is the first time in the state’s history that the transgender community will receive reserved employment in the education department.
The state department also said that if they receive less than 1 per cent of applicants from the community, the positions will be converted to other categories. Additionally, the eligibility criteria remains the same, i.e, they must be graduates, have a B. Ed degree, and pass the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET).
The move to include them in teaching not only aims at the employment of transgender community members, but is also a good way to sensitise young Indians to the concept of gender, expression, and hopefully, kindness.
If you enjoyed reading this, we suggest you also read: