Transgender school, college enrolment up, UP, Bihar lead: Govt figures

Enrolment of transgender students in the school and higher education segment has increased by a whopping figure, India registered, according to a government data released by the Ministry of Education in the Rajya Sabha.

Figures were updated to date as a reply to a query moved by MP Swati Maliwal.

According to the information, school attendance of trans students increased from a meager 155 during 2021-22 to 965 during 2023-24. That is over six times in two years.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has registered the highest school attendance during 2023-24 at 327 and 282 respectively.

SOME STATES SEE THE DECLINE DESPITE OVERALL GROWTH

Number dropped despite overall growth in some states.

Rajasthan dropped from 107 students in 2021-22 to 77 in 2023-24, and West Bengal dropped by a considerable number from 211 in 2022-23 to 62 in 2023-24.

INSTITUTIONAL ENROLMENT SURGES

Even the craze was witnessed at colleges and universities. Transgender students' enrollment in higher education climbed from 302 in 2020–21 to 1,448 in 2022–23 (provisional), according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE).

Uttar Pradesh had 369 students for 2022–2023 and stood at the top. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu were at the next spots with 158, 124, and 98 students, respectively.

NECESSITY OF SUSTAINED POLICY SUPPORT

Though enhanced enrolment is welcome, officials and educationists also opine that again and again efforts would still need to be made to retain and cultivate the transgender students.

A few states have zero or negligible enrollment, i.e., Nagaland, Lakshadweep, and Ladakh.

The ministry is also sensitizing the nation to the need for inclusive education policies and has issued a call for policy and institutional intervention in attempting to address regional disparities and extend transgender students access and opportunity to excel in the system