Grace Banu became the first transgender in the State to get admission into an engineering college, through Anna University counselling for lateral entry, fighting many odds after her parents deserted her when she was studying Plus-Two.

At the Anna University counselling for engineering dourses (lateral entry) held at Alagappa Chettiyar College of Engineering and Technology here on Saturday, Banu, a diploma holder in Computer Engineering, secured a seat in the self-financing Sri Krishna College of Engineering, Arakkonam, to pursue Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE).

“I should be the first transgender in the whole of the country to secure admission in an engineering college but I could only manage to get an admission in a self-finance college,” she said.

She had passed out the diploma course with an aggregate of 94 per cent and despite belonging to Scheduled Caste community and the only transgender to appear for the counselling, she could not get a seat in the government college, Banu lamented.