Gender-inclusivity: SC seeks response of NCERT, SCERTs

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the National Council of Educational Research and Training ( NCERT ) and SCERTs on a PIL alleging that these two have failed to implement a year-old directive of the apex court to integrate comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in textbooks.

A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran issued notice to these two govt organisations responsible for preparing textbooks for schools after hearing senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan for Kaavya Mukherjee Saha, a class XII student from Vasant Valley School who claimed to have compared the textbooks across the states and found CSE missing.

The bench also sought responses from Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as the petitioner said the NCERT and SCERTs have failed to include structures and examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity and the distinction between sex and gender despite the clear mandate of Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.