Trans people in Tamil Nadu will have access to free education after one university committed to waiving fees for them.

The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) waive the fees for trans students to help transform their lives.

MSU officials claimed it was likely they were the first university in India to give trans people fee-free places.

‘After getting neglected by the society and even by their parents, the transgenders are forced to beg on the streets,’ MSU vice-chancellor K. Baskar told The Hindu.

‘If we can create a favourable condition for acquiring better educational qualifications, it will enable them to occupy enviable positions in government or private institutions, and hence, the MSU has taken an initiative in this direction.’

The restroom debate settled

MSU’s constituent colleges have been told to build facilities that include separate restrooms for trans students.

‘A transgender from Salem has become the first Sub-Inspector of Police in Tamil Nadu to prove that providing right opportunity is important for them to come up in life,’ Baskar said.

‘We, by giving the fee waiver, have announced in an unequivocal manner that MSU is for the upliftment of the third gender. We should ensure a respectable life for them.’