Kerala Reserves Two Seats For Transgender Students In Nursing Courses

Kerala Health Minister Veena George announced reservations for transgender students in nursing courses. On Wednesday, the Health Minister claimed that reservations for transgender would be a first in the state. Among two seats reserved the transgender students, one will be in B.Sc. nursing and the other in general nursing courses.

Taking to her Facebook account, George explained that the government has been making major strides toward empowering the transgender community. She added that this step was a continuation of that process to ensure the inclusion of the transgender community in the state’s health sector.

Reservation In Nursing For Transgenders

Senior Superintendent in the Directorate of Medical Education, S. Jayaprakash, said that the cabinet had approved the reservation quota for transgender students in nursing courses and would include it in the college prospectus. He also assured of implementing it in the current academic year as well.

He added that one of the seats in B.Sc. nursing will be added at the Government College of Nursing in Thiruvananthapuram, and the other general nursing courses will be included, most likely at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Centre of Science and Technology.

Daya Gayathri, a transwoman theatre artist who was one of the first students to enroll as a part of the transperson reservation quota at the Maharaja College in Ernakulam in 2018, was happy by the news. Daya Gayathri said this would go a long way towards realising the dreams of people in their community who aspire to become nurses. 

She added that reservations were crucial for the minority community to keep up with others. She expressed her desire for the reservation to be extended to other professional courses such as medicine, MBA, etc.

The landmark order of the then  Kerala state government offered two additional seats in all universities and affiliated arts and science colleges for transpersons as a result of the efforts of Daya Gayathri and her friends.

Suggested Reading: Exclusive Clinic Opened For Transgender Community In Hyderabad