Thirty-two tribal schoolgirls in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district walked nearly 16 km before dawn to approach the collector over poor-quality food, inadequate toilets and the lack of a permanent hostel building. The state tribal welfare department suspended both superintendents of the facility after officials intercepted the students early on October 10.
The girls, studying in classes 9 to 11 at Mata Shabari Kanya Shiksha Parisar in Gohparu, left the hostel at around 4am without an adult escort. They travelled across rural terrain in darkness to register their complaints with the district administration. Officials met them at about 5am, when the students were preparing to board a bus after completing most of the journey.
Anand Sinha, assistant commissioner of tribal welfare in Shahdol, said the girls were brought back to the hostel and counselled at around 7.30am. He said notices had also been issued to the principals and other officials concerned, seeking explanations for the students’ departure without supervision.
“Both hostel superintendents were suspended with immediate effect,” Sinha told The Times of India. He described the students’ decision to leave the premises alone in the early hours as a major security lapse and said officials had been asked why the girls were not accompanied by an elder.
The students’ complaints included tasteless food, an inadequate number of toilets and the absence of a permanent building for the boarders. The hostel is currently operating from a rented building while construction work on a permanent facility is under way. According to Sinha, the number of students has increased to about 200, placing additional pressure on the available amenities.
The department said the students would not face disciplinary action for leaving the hostel unaccompanied. Officials also initiated action against the hostel management after hearing the grievances. The girls’ walk was reportedly the fifth occasion in two months on which students had raised concerns about their residential facilities, indicating that their complaints had not been resolved through routine hostel-level channels.
The episode has brought together two separate administrative concerns: the immediate safety failure that allowed the students to leave without supervision, and the underlying infrastructure shortages in a facility serving a growing number of tribal students. The state department’s immediate next steps are the explanations sought from officials, action against the suspended superintendents and the continuing work on the permanent hostel building.
