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Since July 1, 2024, 26 students of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC and ST) have died in hostels run by the Odisha government, out of which six students committed suicide. This information has been given by the minister in the assembly on Friday.
6 students commit suicide
ST and SC Development, Minority and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Nityanand Gond while answering a question of senior member of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Ranendra Pratap Swain said that 26 SC/ST students died in various hostels in the last eight months. Gond said that six students committed suicide in hostels while the remaining 20 lost their lives during treatment in various hospitals.
More deaths in these 14 districts
According to the minister’s reply, these deaths have occurred in 14 districts of the state. Raigad district killed the highest seven students while three students died in Koraput and Malkangiri districts. Apart from this, two students have died during this period in Sundargarh and Bargarh districts.
1762 schools being run in the state for SC-ST students
Gond told the House that there was a case of death of one student in Bolngir, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Nayagarh, Nuapada and Subaranpur districts. According to the information given by Gond in another written statement given in the assembly, there are a total of 1,762 schools under ST and SC Development, Minority and Backward Classes Welfare Department, including about 90 percent of the students named ST (Scheduled Tribes).
5841 hostels running in the state
He said that 5,841 hostels are operated under the department to provide residential education to ST children. Gond said that more than five lakh students are living in those hostels, out of which 90 percent are ST and 10 percent SC (Scheduled Castes) children. Recently, a student of class 10 gave birth to a child in a hostel run by the department in Malkangiri district. (With language input)
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