BHUBANESWAR: Two fresh cases of teenage pregnancy have come to light at a residential school run by the ST and SC Development department in Kandhamal district.
The school’s headmaster filed complaints at the Tumudibandha police station on Thursday against two youths in connection with the cases.
According to school authorities, the pregnancies were detected during routine counselling and health check-ups conducted on July 23.
The girls, aged around 13 and 14, had returned to the school hostel on July 1 after the summer vacations.
“As per departmental guidelines, mandatory counselling sessions and health screenings are held for all students after vacations. In this instance, the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and hostel warden noticed behavioural changes in the girls, who had also not collected their sanitary napkins for the month,” said a District Welfare official.
Following this, the girls were taken for medical examinations to Baliguda, where their pregnancies were confirmed.
The official added that since the parents of the minors declined to lodge police complaints, the district welfare officer directed the headmaster to file an FIR on their behalf.
To prevent such incidents, the department has made life skill training a mandatory part of the curriculum for students of Classes VIII to X.