Odisha: Class 10 Student Gives Birth In School Hostel After Board Exam, Headmaster Suspended

The headmaster of the school, run by the ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Class Welfare Department, said, "Men are not allowed in the girl's hostel. We do not know how she got pregnant."

The girl's parents have sought to know from the school authorities how the pregnancy remained hidden till she went into labour.

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A Class 10 student delivered a premature baby in her hostel of a state-run residential school in Odisha's Malkangiri district soon after her board exam, on Monday evening. The teen and the baby were rushed to the sub-divisional hospital at Chitrakonda, then shifted to the Malkangiri district headquarters hospital.

According to India Today, the child indicated that the girl continued to attend her classes and appear for exams without the school authorities noticing her condition. The teen’s parents have held the school administration responsible, while teachers have blamed the hostel warden.

On Tuesday, the headmaster of the institute was suspended, after an inquiry, the Malkangiri district administration immediately disengaged hostel matron Suchitra Charchi and suspended an auxiliary nurse and midwife.

The headmaster of the school, run by the ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Class Welfare Department, said, "Men are not allowed in the girl's hostel. We do not know how she got pregnant."

"Health workers are supposed to conduct weekly check-ups of all students living in the hostel. This incident showed that the health worker was not doing her job," he said, as per a PTI report.

District Welfare Officer Srinivas Acharya said it is likely that the girl might have conceived when she went home during a vacation. "A departmental inquiry has already started," he said. The man who was suspected to have impregnated her was questioned by the police.

Sub-divisional Police Officer of Chitrakonda, Pradosh Pradhan, said that a case has been registered under several sections of the POCSO Act and BNS.

The girl's parents have sought to know from the school authorities how the pregnancy remained hidden till she went into labour. According to India Today, the 15-year-old girl was allegedly in a relationship with a local boy who is the father of the child.