Probe ordered after class 10 student gives birth in hostel room at Odisha school for SC/ST children

School authorities said they were not aware that the girl was pregnant. She was staying in the hostel, regularly attended classes, and appeared for examinations.

The girl’s parents blamed the school, holding it responsible for the situation.

The district administration has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

“It is the responsibility of school authorities to look after the wellbeing of students. They can’t say that they were not aware of her condition. At least the matron should have alerted school teachers about the girl’s condition,” Malkangiri district welfare officer Srinivas Achary told The Indian Express.

Police said they were waiting for a complaint regarding the matter from the parents, who are with the girl at the district hospital.

The Odisha government has said it has a “zero tolerance” policy for any sexual offences against students.

Odisha has developed around 6,000 hostels to facilitate residential education to students from SC/ST communities. Nearly 5.2 lakh students, 60% of whom are girls, reside in these hostels.

In a reply at the state Assembly in September 2023, the then SC/ST minister Jagannath Saraka had said that as many as 22 cases of sexual assault of girls had been reported from 188 residential high schools meant for SC/ST students in the state.

The comptroller and auditor general (CAG), in a recent report, had pointed to problems like crowded living spaces, shortage of toilets, a lack of purified drinking water, and inadequate staff in these girls’ hostels.

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