Maharashtra: 584 ashram school students died in past two years

MUMBAI: Amid the criticism of the Maharashtra government over the death of three tribal girls due to snakebite at a residential school hostel in Gadchiroli, officials said on Friday that 584 ashram school students have died in the last two years in the state.

A senior official from the Tribal Development department said the causes of death range from snakebite, sickle cell, serious illness, accident and suicide.

Maharashtra has 500 government-run and 513 aided ashram schools, which are residential facilities for tribal children, the official said. "In the past two years, 384 deaths were reported in government ashram schools and 200 in aided schools," a senior official from the department said.

Also read From Taboo to Textbook: Why India took two decades to say ‘Yes’ to sex education in school

170 ashram school students died in 2024-25

The official said that 170 ashram school students died in 2024-25, while 214 deaths were reported in 2025-26. Of these, 36 died on school premises and 348 at home, he said. In aided schools, 81 deaths were reported in 2024-25 and 119 in the next financial year. Of these, 30 deaths took place on school premises and 170 at home.

The Congress has alleged that administrative negligence and corruption under the Mahayuti dispensation led to the recent deaths at a residential school hostel in Gadchiroli. Three tribal girls died and as many others were undergoing treatment after a venomous snake bit them around midnight on August 9 in the hostel of the aided tribal residential school, located in Japtalai village, about 10 km from Dhanora taluka headquarters.

Following the incident, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday ordered the permanent cancellation of the licence of the government-aided residential school.