The Odisha government has directed district collectors to ensure the safety of residential school boarders as part of its zero-tolerance policy towards sexual offences against students.
The directive has been issued in response to alarming trends of sexual assaults on residents in residential school hostels.
According to a government report, 22 girls were sexually assaulted in recent years and 35 individuals were subsequently arrested for the offences in 188 residential high schools specifically designated for tribal girls in the state. Shockingly, 12 of the girls were found to be pregnant while attending the schools. Officials said that 62,385 girls are currently enrolled in the 188 residential schools.
The Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes development, minorities, and backward communities welfare departments have instructed the collectors to conduct health screening of all borders pursuing education in the government-run residential schools. It has been made mandatory on part of the officials to conduct the health screening within 1-2 days of the students joining their respective institutions after long vacations, an official said on Thursday.
The health screening encompasses fever, malaria, diarrhoea, chicken pox, acute respiratory infections, and many other diseases, including adolescent reproductive and sexual health issues, for all residential school boarders.
Detailed guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures have also been issued to ensure the safety and security of students in schools and hostels. These guidelines specify the code of conduct and staff duties, including environmental safeguards to be adopted in hostels, recording the movement of boarders and visitors in the schools and hostel campuses, officials said.
The state government has created 3,000 posts of Lady Matrons for their deployment in girls’ hostels. This move has not only ensured safety but also boosted the confidence of girl boarders in the hostels and schools. Efforts are being taken to ensure a safe ecosystem around the educational institutions, the officials added.
It is pertinent to note that the Odisha government operates 1,736 residential educational institutions that provide education to ST & SC students from primary to secondary level. These institutions include around 6,000 hostels housing 5.2 lakh boarders, of which 58 per cent are girls.
The government has codified a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offences against students by the teaching or non-teaching staff. Any violation of this policy is dealt with promptly and in the most stringent manner. Sexual offences against students shall be treated as a major offence under the OCS (CC&A) Rules 1962 and shall be liable for dismissal from service, they added.