Indian university offers full scholarship to transgender students

IGNOU aims to encourage transgender students to opt for programmes in their university

Transgender candidates who provide an identity proof will be given a full fee waiver on all programmes offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the university has announced.

In a statement signed by the Registrar of the Student Registration Division on June 29, the university said the “competent authority is pleased to approve fee exemption in all programmes for transgender candidates. Any certificate issued by the central or state government, medical officer, or any other competent authority... may be sought for the purpose.”

The announcement was made by IGNOU vice-chancellor, Ravindra Kumar during a lecture on Sunday. He said the move intends to encourage more transgender students to opt for programmes in their university.

“An NGO approached our Regional Director in Delhi last year for enrolling transgenders into our programmes, to give them some sense of respect. Once they take to some course in IGNOU, they feel elevated and slightly better because of their social status. If they take to education, their lot will improve substantially. So once the officials approached us, we welcomed [the idea]. We had anyway opened these gates for them fairly early,” he said.



The university had introduced ‘other’ gender category in their admission forms in 2012 – two years before transgenders were officially recognised by the Supreme Court of India.

Kumar claimed about a 100 transgender have already applied, adding that they made identity documents a requirement to distinguish imposters. “There is a possibility that after hearing of the fee waiver, some people will declare themselves transgender. What mechanism will we have to check this? That’s why we’re asking for some proof to ascertain their gender,” he said.



Speaking about the decision, Kumar said the demand from other regional centres, including Varanasi and Chennai, for fee concessions swayed the university.

The university, that has over three million students enrolled in its 200-odd programmes, also introduced orientation programme for transgender students in its regional centre at Kochi.