ADILABAD: Recently, a 14-year-old Dalit student, S Sravani, died in a social welfare residential school located in Sirpur (T) mandal of Kumurambheem Asifabad district, supposedly due to malnutrition, as per Opposition leaders. This is not the first incident of its kind, as several similar cases were reported last year. Despite this, the administration has not taken any significant measures to address the issue.
Students in social welfare and other residential schools are facing malnutrition issues as they are not receiving a proper diet that includes eggs and meat. Despite the increasing cost of essential commodities, the State government has not raised the mess charges in these schools to match the price hikes. This has led to a situation where the charges remain the same, but the quality and quantity of the food served to the students have declined.
The Adilabad region is home to 17 social welfare residential schools and three-degree colleges. The government provides different mess charges for students, with Rs 950 per student per month for those in Class 5 to 7, Rs 1,100 per month for Class 8 to 10, and students in Intermediate and above receive Rs 1,500 per month. This translates to an average of Rs 36 per day per student for three meals. Each social welfare residential school accommodates around 640 students.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers receive a certain amount per day for their work, whereas the residential school cooking workers receive only half of that amount. This significantly affects their ability to work actively, as they may not be able to afford basic necessities or provide for their families. This situation raises concerns about the welfare of these workers and highlights the need for fair compensation for their labour.
Due to their involvement in the Kanti Velugu programme, the health department staff are burdened and unable to spend enough time screening the students for health and medical issues in residential schools at regular intervals.
Last year, on the government’s instructions, screening programmes were carried out in a few tribal welfare schools. Officials identified that students were facing nutrition problems. However, due to a lack of time, all residential schools could not be screened. It is the responsibility of the school management to monitor the health of the students regularly and refer any student with a low haemoglobin percentage or other issues to hospitals for treatment, activists said, adding that any failure to do so would constitute negligence on the part of the schools.
Case registered
In the Sravani case, Sirpur T mandal police have filed a case and are conducting an investigation based on the complaint filed by the family members of the deceased. The postmortem of the body was conducted by a team of doctors at the Mancherial government hospital. The report from the postmortem will take some time to be completed.
Kumurambheem Asifabad Additional Collector B Rajesham told TNIE that he had personally visited the hospital on the night of April 15. He also confirmed that an inquiry has been initiated into the matter and that appropriate action will be taken against those found guilty, once the detailed report is received.
Student union leader B Rahul called on the government to increase the mess and cosmetic charges in residential schools. He highlighted that private buildings hosting around 200 to 300 students in hostels do not have sufficient toilets and bathrooms, leading to numerous issues. He urged the government to take permanent measures to address these problems. Additionally, he suggested that the staff working in these schools should be appointed on a regular basis instead of being on contract, to ensure that they receive proper benefits.