Sexual abuse in Odisha’s boarding schools for tribals demotivate first generation learners

For many girls studying in residential schools in Odisha’s tribal regions, the back-to-school routine after an extended winter break comes with a twist — they are likely to undergo medical check-ups, which not only assess their general health, but also include undisclosed screenings, reflecting an unwritten but established protocol.

Having reviewed the troubling history of sexual abuse against girls in the State’s residential schools, a government-run research institute recommended in 2018 that regular health check-ups, with pregnancy tests for girls, be conducted immediately after the vacation. This was despite the fact that its own study revealed that a significant number of cases of sexual abuse occurred during the school terms, although there were also some cases of abuse occurring in their home communities. At least 13 headmasters and 4 teachers were accused in the 29 cases reviewed in the study, with the State government callously reinstating one such headmaster accused of abuse.

“Many girls who study in residential schools are first generation learners. Steps should be taken to ensure their safety on school campuses and outside. Sexual abuse is a curse which will adversely impact the effort to mainstream tribals,” said Anil Pradhan, convenor of the Odisha Right To Education Forum.

Also Read | Tribal girl raped by headmistress’ husband at Odisha

Bleak statistics

The State Minister for ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare, Jagannath Saraka, laid out the bleak official statistics on the floor of the State Assembly in September 2023. Replying to a query, he said that over the past five years, there were 22 cases of girls who faced sexual assaults in the 188 residential high schools exclusively for tribal girls, with 34 people being named as accused. Twelve girl students had delivered babies. There are 62,385 girls studying in these schools.

If all 1,737 schools functioning under the department are taken into account, the crisis could be much bigger. The government record says that 4,26,903 students, mostly tribals, study in these schools. According to a news report which quoted a reply obtained under the Right To Information Act, between 2010 and 2015, as many as 16 cases of sexual exploitation were reported from these 1,737 schools.

Headmasters, teachers accused

As part of a study titled, ‘Impact of Preventive Intervention on Incidences of Sexual Abuse in Residential Schools of Odisha’, conducted by the government-run Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) in 2018, researchers examined several cases of reported sexual abuse in residential schools. In the majority of these cases, the allegations about sexual harassment were found to be true.

Researchers reviewed 29 cases of sexual abuse that had taken place between 2011 and 2016 in five districts: Koraput, Balasore, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, and Sundargarh. Shockingly, 13 headmasters and 4 teachers were accused in these cases.

“There were some cases where the boarder girls were sexually abused by the teaching or non-teaching staffs of the school. In some other cases, girls were abused by outsiders including relatives during vacations. Enquiry Reports reveal that boarder girls are often used as domestic help by the school staff who reside inside the school campus. As per the report, the headmaster or headmaster in-charge are mostly involved in such exploitation and sexual abuse cases,” the study had found.

Uneven punishments

In 2017, a Class X student was found to be six-months pregnant at a girls’ high school in Koraput district. The headmaster turned out to be the culprit and was booked under the stringent Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In 2013, the headmaster of another school in the same district had an illicit relationship with four girl boarders. Upon being found guilty by departmental inquiry, he was dismissed from the job. However, no case was registered by the victims.

In Mayurbhanj district, the headmaster of a school was accused of sexually abusing five girls. The headmaster and assistant superintendent of the hostel were suspended in 2017. In the same year, eight girls had levelled allegations against their headmaster, who was charged under POCSO. In another Mayurbhanj school in the same year, four girls had accused a teacher of sexual abuse. However, the witnesses turned hostile in that case.

In a school in Koraput district, the State government reinstated a headmaster just two years after he was accused of committing sexual abuse.

Also Read | Two teachers of an Odisha school picked up on charges of gang-raping a student

Pregnancy tests recommended

The analysis also found that some girls from residential schools were sexually assaulted by relatives or acquaintances in their home villages during their vacations. The SCSTRTI, which conducted the study with financial support from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, had thus recommended that girl students undergo regular health check-ups, with pregnancy tests, immediately after returning from vacation.

“We conduct health check-ups after students return from long vacations. But we don’t do pregnancy tests. When we notice some morphological changes in girls, we first seek the consent of their parents for health check-ups. Only after they give their consent, girls undergo different tests. Indiscriminate pregnancy test on students is an ethical issue and it is prohibited,” said Arabinda Ray, Kalahandi District’s Welfare Officer.

Safety guidelines

Keeping these instances of sexual abuse in mind, the State government in 2013 issued school hostel management guidelines, which clearly stipulated that girl boarders should not be called to their teachers’ residences under any circumstances. All teachers and staff managing the affairs of girl students should be female only, it said. In 2017, the government issued another guideline, making it mandatory to hold parent-teacher meetings every two months, in which girls’ safety figured as a major talking point.

Researchers have emphasised the need to impart life skill education in residential schools. A researcher who is currently involved in a study on adolescent health revealed that the lives of some girls were threatened when their partners provided contraceptive pills at the wrong time.

In his reply in the Assembly, the Minister had said that the government was taking all possible steps including provision of toll-free telephones for lodging complaints, the installation of closed circuit television cameras, putting up of complaint boxes, maintaining in-and-out registers, institution of sexual harassment committees, and health check ups by Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram teams.