Odisha: 26 SC-ST Students Died in Government Hostels in Last 8 Months,Says Minister

BHUBANESWAR: At least 26 students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC and ST) have lost their lives since July 1, 2024, of which six students committed suicide  in the hostels run by the Odisha government,according to the information given by the government in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Friday.

Replying to a question by senior Biju Janata Dal member Ranendra Pratap Swain, the Minister for ST & SC Development, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare, Nityanand Gond, stated that over the past eight months, 26 SC/ST students have died in various hostels in the state.

Gond said that six students committed suicide in the hostels, while the remaining 20 lost their lives during treatment in various hospitals. According to the minister, these deaths occurred across 14 districts of the state.

Rayagada district reported the highest number of deaths at seven, while Koraput and Malkangiri districts recorded three deaths each.

In a separate written statement provided in the Assembly, Gond shared that the ST & SC Development, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare Department operates a total of 1,762 schools, with approximately 90 percent of the enrolled students belonging to the ST (Scheduled Tribe) category.

He further stated that the department manages 5,841 hostels to provide residential education to ST children.

Gond added that over five lakh students reside in these hostels, of which 90 percent are ST students and 10 percent are SC (Scheduled Caste) students. Recently, in Malkangiri district, a Class 10 student in a department-run hostel gave birth to a child.