NCPCR serves notice to UP, Haryana over use of term 'non-binary' for transgender by school

NEW DELHI: The apex child rights body NCPCR has issued a notice to the education departments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana over use of the term "non-binary" in a question related to gender by Delhi-NCR-based Shiv Nadar schools. In response, the school said "As of now, we are not aware of any such notice; hence cannot offer any comment."

In a notice to Haryana's Secretary of the Directorate of School Education and UP's principal secretary for the Delhi-NCR-based Shiv Nadar schools, the NCPCR said that it has received a complaint regarding the use of inappropriate terminology by these schools with respect to child's gender.

"As highlighted in the complaint, the school in its Parent's Feedback Survey has a question on Child's Gender. The options given are Female, Male and Non-binary. It may be noted that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 defines and uses the term 'transgender," the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said in the notice.

The National Education Policy (NEP) also refers to transgender children/students and does not use any other term, it said. The NCPCR has asked the state governments to ensure no such term is used by any school in any form that does not align with the NEP and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.