he present article uses the Maharashtra government’s 19 November 2016 resolution as context to outline some of the issues associated with ashram shalas or tribal boarding schools (GR 2016
political science
Description
The present article uses the Maharashtra government’s 19 November
2016 resolution as context to outline some of the issues associated with
ashram shalas or tribal boarding schools
(GR 2016),1
including recurring incidents
of rape and sexual abuse of children in
these schools. In 2013, a public interest litigation (PIL) was fi led in the Bombay High
Court, highlighting the deaths of 793
children in ashram shalas in the last
decade due to snake bites, scorpion bites,
fever, and other minor illnesses; these
deaths were mainly due to the “negligence
of staff” who did not ensure proper treatment in time. The PIL led to the formation
of a high-level committee, headed by
Subhash Salunkhe, to recommend corrective measures to prevent student deaths
in tribal boarding schools, which include
government- and state-aided private institutions. The committee submitted a report in October 2016 that revealed some
startling facts. Soon after, in November
2016, the rape and sexual abuse of minor
girls at the Nimbaji Korkre ashram shala
at Khamgaon in the Buldhana district
(Goyal 2016), and the sexual abuse of girls
by teachers at a residential school for
students from Vimukta Jati (Denotifi ed
Tribes) and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) at
Sindphana in Beed district in the Marathwada region, were widely reported in the
media. The prevalence of such heinous
acts, despite the culprits of the Buldhana
incident being brought to justice (Goyal
2016), underscores the lawlessness, and
impunity that prevails within tribal education programmes. At present, apart
from issues regarding quality of education, the physical security of students at
ashram shalas has become a serious concern for the government.
