“When I reached out to my college counsellor, I was told I was just experiencing hormonal changes and was influenced by my surroundings and the media. It was a deeply traumatic session. I had asked for support, but all I received was dismissal and ignorance,” says Adi Goswami, a trans man and People Consultant at Bengaluru-based firm Zinnov.
Adi regrets asking the counsellor for help before transitioning, while pursuing his undergraduate studies in a reputed, previously all-girls college in the city. Like Adi, many transgender students experience isolation, and the lack of mental health support in their institutions may also affect their academic prospects.
Manini, a socially-transitioned trans woman pursuing a Master’s degree in Kannada Literature at Bangalore University, says, “You won’t find many transgender students open about their gender identity in schools and colleges, because the teachers are often unaware about the subject and end up abusing us in the name of ‘helping’ us.”
Manini moved to Bengaluru seven months ago but hasn’t come out at her university, fearing stigma. “The faculty’s ignorance hits harder when we are still trying to understand ourselves. I became depressed, fearing something was wrong with me when I realised I was attracted to men,” adds Manini.
Most educational institutions and their staff find it challenging to accept an individual’s right to live their true gender, and have a limited understanding of the emotional needs of transgender students. This lack of awareness about the trans community often extends to counsellors.
In a nationwide Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) poll, 75% of transgender adolescents reported feeling uncomfortable at school. Moreover, a Harvard School of Public Health report points out that transgender youth are more likely to experience depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, while 45% of transgender people between the ages of 18 and 24 report attempting suicide.
That’s why an inclusive academic environment is crucial. According to a 2025 study from China, queer-affirmative educational spaces are as important as personal coping mechanisms for the psychological well-being and better academic performance of transgender students.
“Schools are the worst spaces to be if you’re queer,” says Adi, adding that feelings of alienation are constant among many transgender youth, especially upon realising there are no safe and supporting adults to turn to while navigating their non-binary identity.
Read more: Promises unfulfilled: How Ayushman Bharat leaves the transgender community behind
Due to a lack of awareness, parents and teachers continue to believe that trans identities are a ‘choice’, attributing them to factors such as grooming, cultural differences, and media influence.
“If parents are okay and the child is also aware of a trans life and society’s perception, then I have no choice but to let them be,” says Manju S Balakrishna, a psychotherapist and counsellor at a reputed Bengaluru school. Sadly, many school counsellors like Manju focus on societal rejection faced by the trans community, while reluctantly accepting the students’ identities, often ignoring their duty to support them.
Queer-affirming counsellors stress that children as young as five sense they don’t fit gender norms, making it vital for adults to foster safe, accepting spaces. “Parents and teachers often create a ‘tough environment’ for children at home and school to prepare them for the world outside. So, the child is left feeling isolated in what should be their safest space,” says Nishtha Sabharwal, a mental health counsellor.
Moreover, deep-seated stigma makes it difficult to train teachers, and even counsellors, to be queer-affirmative. “During one of our training programmes at a reputed college, many of the teachers walked out when they realised the session was about queer and trans affirmation,” says Sayra Afroz, programme manager at Solidarity Foundation, a trust supporting sex workers and gender and sexual minorities.
“I was bullied in school, so when I reached pre-university, I would quickly gather my materials after class and rush back home without interacting with anyone,” says Lakshman Kanakuntla (Malavika), teacher, author, and a trans woman from the Kothi community, where transition happens only socially, and not physically. “I observed men and learned to behave like them, and that is how I completed my education.”
To transition physically as a trans person, an individual undergoes a medical transition, using hormone replacement therapy and gender affirmative surgery.
To socially transition as a trans person is to come out as trans and embrace one’s identity, without surgery, either temporarily or permanently.
In the 2011 Census, Karnataka recorded a 58.82% literacy rate among transgender people, but dropout and pass rates remain undocumented. The Department of Pre-University Education and the Department of Collegiate Education (DCE) have mandated colleges to include a third gender option on admission forms, but many don’t comply, and admissions aren’t tracked.
DCE officials, on condition of anonymity, told Citizen Matters that they had asked UG colleges to collect data on transgender students, and to establish gender minority cells and appoint nodal officers. By July 30th, only 241 colleges responded, identifying just three transgender students, they informed. However, many, like Manini, avoid disclosure due to campus discrimination.
Some private institutions have full-time counsellors, but most government colleges do not provide counselling services. However, in 2005, the department mandated that all government colleges must have informal counselling units, run by full-time professors who are trained by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS).
Professors are often overwhelmed with the demands of completing the syllabus and find it difficult to dedicate time to sensitive responsibilities such as counselling. “Also, students see us every day in the classrooms. There is underlying anxiety about confidentiality since we work so closely with them, and this may stop them from reaching out to us for emotional support,” says Sahana Priyadarshini, Associate Professor, Department of English and coordinator of the counselling cell at Government First Grade College, Malleshwaram.
None of the appointed counsellors in various colleges that this reporter spoke to had interacted with a trans student. “Even if there are transgender students in government colleges, they may not reach out to the faculty out of fear,” opines Shanthamma TR, Associate Professor of Kannada, and convenor of the counselling committee at Government First Grade College, Yelahanka.
Few professors were honest about their lack of awareness of the ‘issue’ and would rather refer transgender students to an expert. “My knowledge about queer and trans folk is from our literature courses and Akkai Padmashali’s (transgender activist and motivational speaker) workshops. However, I have limited understanding of trans students’ needs to offer them any professional help,” says Alice Cherian, Associate Professor, Department of English and student counsellor at Government First Grade College, KR Pura.
NIMHANS runs a one-week, voluntary training programme for teachers on mental health support. However, the training does not include queer-sensitisation.
“Having a counsellor in educational institutions is as essential as having oxygen to breathe. As many mistakenly believe, it is not a rich person’s privilege but a necessity,” says Rajani Belegur, counselling psychologist at Sheshadripuram Commerce and Management College. She adds that for transgender students, a queer-informed counsellor is highly crucial in ensuring equitable access to education.
So, will having counselling units help transgender students? “In my experience, when parents or teachers don’t accept a person’s gender identity, it often dominates the focus of their counselling sessions. This lack of acceptance usually leads to poor self-worth and low confidence in transgender clients, unlike those who are supported and affirmed,” says Nishtha.
According to experts, here is what school/college counsellors can do to support transgender students:
Be aware of their own perceptions about gender identity.
Be attentive to the concerns of transgender students and try to understand where these concerns are coming from.
Validate their feelings and help them feel safe and understood.
After a few supportive sessions, refer them to a queer-affirmed therapist if necessary, while assuring them of long-term support.
Promote inclusion of transgender students in their educational institutions and ensure their acceptance among other staff.
And a supportive campus can make all the difference. “The burden of societal misperception falls when you are accepted in your primary space,” says Shivv Pandey, a trans man who studied at Shristi Institute of Art, Design and Technology, a queer-inclusive college, and this helped him grow more confident in his workplace.
Rakshitha Mallikarjuna, transgender youth activist and Director of Ondede Trust, a transgender activists’ group in Karnataka, emphasises that merely appointing counsellors isn’t enough. “The counsellors and teachers must know how to address us and understand trans lives to offer mental health support.”
Community members suggest measures to make educational spaces safer and inclusive:
Include queer-affirmation in teacher training modules to sensitise teachers.
Include a module or two about the trans and queer community in school textbooks.
Conduct regular awareness programmes on queer and trans inclusivity.
Mandate queer-informed, full-time counsellors in every school and college.
Make queer-affirmation a compulsory module in the psychology curriculum.
Provide toilet and hostel facilities for the trans community.
[The opinions and views expressed are those of the author. Laadli and UNFPA do not necessarily endorse the views.]
Harshitha is a Laadli Media Fellow, and this piece was produced as part of her work under a special Media Fellowship on the theme, Mental Health of Women and Persons with alternate Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI).
This article is republished from Citizen Matters under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.