The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Union government, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), and several states, seeking their responses on a plea demanding formal integration of age-appropriate, transgender-inclusive comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) into school curricula nationwide.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran was hearing a petition filed by 16-year-old Delhi student Kaavya Mukherjee Saha. Appearing for her, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan argued that despite clear directions by the apex court in 2024 to incorporate CSE in schools, NCERT had recently admitted in a Right to Information (RTI) reply that it had “no information” on introducing such material in its curriculum.
“This shows the orders of this court remain unimplemented,” he told the bench, stressing that sexuality education cannot be tokenistic and must necessarily include gender sensitisation and transgender-inclusive perspectives.
The plea contends that NCERT and most state councils of educational research and training (SCERTs) have failed to introduce structured or examinable content on gender identity, gender diversity, and the distinction between sex and gender, despite obligations under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
Textbook reviews across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka reportedly revealed systematic omissions, with Kerala emerging as a limited exception. The petition also pointed to the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (ITGSE), a UNESCO-WHO framework endorsed by the Supreme Court in its 2024 judgment, as the global standard India must follow.
According to the petition, such exclusions perpetuate stigma and misinformation, violating constitutional guarantees of dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.
The latest plea builds upon a landmark December 2024 judgment, where the Supreme Court emphasised the central role of sexuality education in preventing child marriage. That verdict directed schools to align CSE content with international frameworks laid down by the WHO and UNESCO, extending beyond reproductive health to cover:
- Legal aspects of child marriage
- Gender equality and rights
- Physical and psychological consequences of early marriage
- Preventive strategies and community awareness
The court had also mandated that schools, particularly in child marriage-prone regions, dedicate textbook sections to these issues, display awareness posters in schools and panchayats, and ensure mentorship programmes for young girls. Teachers and principals were further obligated to report sudden dropouts of girl students to authorities for timely intervention.
That ruling came on a PIL filed in 2017 by NGO Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action and activist Nirmal Gorana, which highlighted poor enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
