Odisha Assembly Told 24 Minor Girls in Department-Run Hostels Became Pregnant in Two Years

Twenty-four minor girls living in school hostels run by Odisha's Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development Department became pregnant over the past two years, the State Legislative Assembly was told on Friday.

Replying to a question from Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, ST & SC Development Minister Nityananda Gond said 15 girls were found pregnant in schools under the department during the 2025-26 academic year, while nine such cases came to light in 2024-25.

Kandhamal district accounted for the largest share of the 2025-26 cases, with five pregnancies reported there, the Minister said.

On the question of who was responsible, Mr. Gond said the accused were either from the victims' neighbourhoods or outsiders, and were not attached to the same schools. He added that FIRs had been lodged against all the accused.

The Minister's reply also referenced a study by the government-run Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), titled 'Impact of Preventive Intervention on Incidences of Sexual Abuse in Residential Schools of Odisha'. That study examined 29 cases of sexual abuse reported between 2011 and 2016 across five districts — Koraput, Balasore, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh — and identified 13 headmasters and four teachers as being responsible for the pregnancies.

Anil Pradhan, convenor of the Odisha Right to Education Forum, described the figures as a serious concern. He said child pregnancies had been reported in hostels of residential schools under the ST & SC Department for more than two decades, and that the government had not taken adequate steps to prevent them.

Mr. Pradhan noted that although exhaustive guidelines exist for teachers, non-teaching staff and hostel matrons on preventing sexual assault on girls in hostels, such incidents continue to recur, calling it a blot on the system.