Respond to PIL seeking transgender-inclusive school textbooks, SC tells Centre, Punjab & 5 other states

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre, Punjab and five other state governments on a PIL seeking inclusion of transgender-inclusive Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in school textbooks prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs).

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai asked the Centre, NCERT and governments of Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and SCERTs to file their replies in six weeks to the PIL by Kaavya Mukherjee Saha—a Class XII student – after senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan highlighted the issues raised in the petition.

The NCERT and most SCERTs have failed to comply with the top court’s binding directions in the NALSA versus Union of India case (2014), the PIL alleged.

Despite statutory obligations under Sections 2(d) and 13 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, the NCERT and most of the SCERTs neglected to integrate structured and examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity and the distinction between sex and gender into school syllabi, it alleged.

The exclusion not only violated fundamental rights like right to equality but also undermines Directive Principles of State Policy, the PIL contended.

The petitioner sought a direction to the authorities concerned to incorporate “scientifically accurate, age-appropriate” and transgender-inclusive CSE into examinable school syllabi across India.

It also demanded binding guidelines to ensure effective implementation of gender sensitisation and transgender-inclusive sexuality education across all public and private educational institutions.

Textbook reviews conducted in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka reportedly revealed systemic omissions, with Kerala being a partial exception, it submitted.

The International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, published by UNESCO and the WHO, provides a globally accepted framework for CSE, it said.