Sensitisation of over 1L teachers to gender matters gets HC pat

CHENNAI: The School Education Department’s efforts in gender-sensitising around 1.11 lakh teachers under a State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) initiative has come in for Madras High Court’s appreciation. Justice N Anand Venkatesh’s pat on Friday came while hearing a matter related to the safety and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

School Education Department Commissioner submitted a status report about sensitisation programmes for the teachers to ensure students are aware of gender equality, transgender, and LGBTQIA+ sections.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) N Silambannan, representing the department, submitted that every year high and higher secondary school BT and PG teachers are trained for 10 days on content, pedagogy, innovative approaches, and co-curricular areas.

“In 2021-22, SCERT organised Capacity Building Training for BT teachers handling classes 9 and 10 and PG teachers handling classes 11 and 12 through the online mode. SCERT developed training content that included videos and assessment sheets,” the AAG said, adding the method of ‘Integrating Gender in Schooling Processes’ has been one of the modules covered.

He said the concept covers gender inclusion in the school process, integrating gender concerns in the transaction of disciplines such as languages, mathematics, science, social sciences, economics, gender inclusiveness, gender-friendly environment, gender inclusion in schooling processes, gender identity, the role of teachers, etc. As many as 1,11,016 teachers benefited through this training, said the AAG.

The department noted that the LGBTQIA+ concepts such as gender identity, gender expression, gender presentation, vulnerability, health issues, challenges faced by them, implications and recommendations, Gender non-conformity or gender variance, cross-dresser, sexual development disorder (SDD), male to female (MTF), female to male (FTM) and LGBTQIA+ will be included in the teacher training content and teachers will be oriented on these areas in the years to come. It is also informed that the teachers who attended the training only will treat and counsel LGBTQIA+ students.

The AAG also recalled the mobile health team scheme launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin in July to give counselling to the students by addressing the issues faced by them due to adolescence and other mental health issues.

Recording the submissions, the judge lauded the department and urged the Commissionerate of School Education to continue with the training and not to make it a one-time affair.