Ashram schools: disguised death traps

Two months ago, a minor Adivasi girl at a tribal residential school in Khamgaon taluka of Duldhana district in Maharashtra returned home for the Diwali vacation complaining of recurring stomach ache to her mother. She was taken to a doctor who confirmed sexual assault. A sweeper employed at the school was allegedly raping her for weeks. Soon after, another Adivasi girl from the same class accused the same man of rape. Both the victims were barely 12 years old. At their age, all they could comprehend was that something ‘dirty’ had been done to them. Earlier, they had mustered the courage to complain to their headmaster, but he did nothing. The school hostel accommodated 70 girls but did not have a female superintendent who the students could approach in times of distress.

A year ago, a similar case came to the fore in an ashram school at Gadchiroli district where a teacher was sexually exploiting a minor. Another horrific incident occured in Nashik three years ago where a tribal girl was gangraped. These are just a few of the reported cases of rape at ashram schools, established in forested areas with the noble aim of educating Adivasi children. Habitation is scattered  and scarce in these areas. Everything shuts down after sunset due to power outages or skewed power connections.

Children as young as six years live here at the mercy of the male-dominated school staff. There are nearly 1,100 state-run and aided tribal residential schools in Maharashtra which cater to 1.6 lakh female and 2.3 lakh male students. Over 1,500 students including 700 girls have reportedly lost their lives in these schools in the past 15 years. In a probe report submitted to the Maharashtra government in October, the cause of death in two-third of the cases were ascribed to vague reasons like ‘missing’. The schools failed to produce any information related to 12 per cent of the deaths. Over 17 per cent of the deaths were attributed to ‘unknown causes’, 13 per cent to ‘sudden deaths’ and 23 per cent to ‘severe illness’ without mentioning the disease. There were 31 suicides as well. It is no surprise that these schools have turned into death traps for many students.

The probe panel suspected that sexual exploitation could be behind such an alarming number of deaths. The panel found teachers at some schools drunk in the premises after sun-set. Many Ashramshalas did not have boundary walls, security measures, or electricity at night. Students did not have access to phones either. The absence of women superintendents in many schools ensured that untoward incidents were kept under wraps. Most Adivasi girls are first generation learners and are unable to discuss these crucial matters at home. Their families lack courage and resources to pursue legal recourse, if they do. Despite the constraints, the students reside in ashramshalas as they offer free education, clothes and two square meals. Staying back at home essentially means going hungry, marriage and bearing children in teenage. No wonder, enrollment of tribal girls is much lower than the boys.They also have double the drop-out rate.What do some tribal schools do to curb rapes?

They keep menstration records of girls and conduct urine tests to rule out pregnancy if they miss their period, and when they come back after vacation, says the probe report questioning the rationale behind such bizarre practices. Maintaining menstruation records is unethical and subjecting minors to pregnancy tests without parental consent is illegal. And both the measures can neither prove nor rule out assaults. This criminal apathy and procedural harrasment is a blot on society and our public education system.

The author is a special correspondent with DNA based in Mumbai. She tweets @Ms_Aflatoon