Karnataka reserves 1% teacher jobs for transgenders

Members from the transgender community will soon enter the teaching sector in Karnataka, with the state government deciding to reserve 1% jobs for them during the forthcoming recruitment.

This is the first time in Karnataka’s history that candidates from the transgender community will be employed in the education department.

The state Department of Primary and Secondary Education has decided to make 1% reservation for the community in all recruitments in the future. It has also announced this in the draft rules notified for the recruitment of 15,000 teachers to various government schools across the state.

As per the draft notification, at least 150 posts in the upcoming recruitment will be reserved for transgender candidates. As explained by the officials from the department, the decision was based on the amendments made to the Karnataka Civil Service (General Recruitment) Rules, 1977. The amendments were made following a petition filed in the Karnataka High Court in 2021.

“This is the first recruitment we are doing after the amendments were brought to the rules. Following the amendments and state government notification, we are reserving 1% posts for the transgender community,” said Dr Vishal R, Commissioner, Department of Public Instructions.

In case there are no applicants or less than 1% applications, the posts will be automatically converted to other categories, according to officials.

Even though the department has announced reservations for transgenders, the community members are unlikely to get any relaxation in the eligibility criteria. “They must be graduates in any subject and must have obtained B.Ed degrees and cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

Department officials said that the Common Entrance Test for the recruitment of 15,000 teachers will be conducted soon and they will be posted to various government schools to teach students of grades 6 to 8.

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