Kerala govt. keen to retain HIV+ children at school
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The Kerala government has made it clear that discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS will not be tolerated, and that the school that refused to admit a group of HIV-positive children will continue to function even if the five children are the only students left in it.
Parents of children studying at Mar Dionysius Lower Primary School in Pampady, Kerala, appear to have got their way, at least for the moment. The NGO Asha Kiran, which is sponsoring a group of HIV-positive children, has decided not to send the children to school to save them the trauma of being discriminated against. This follows protests by parents and threats that they would take their children out of school if the HIV-positive children were re-admitted, after being thrown out in December. The children will receive private lessons at the charity home. The decision prompted the immediate re-appearance of the other children, despite Principal Elsamma’s earlier claim that they had stayed away from school because they were unwell. The HIV-positive children, aged between 5 and 11 years, were set to be re-admitted at the Mar Dionysius Lower Primary School, following government intervention after they were dismissed in December last year. With their re-admission, the Kerala government had hoped to send out a strong message that discrimination would not be tolerated against people living with HIV/AIDS. While the school authorities have asked for a week’s time to resolve the issue, the Kerala government has taken a stand and said that the school will continue to function even if the five children are the only students left in it. Kerala’s health minister emphasised that every measure would be taken to ensure that the children received a proper education. “We will work out an action plan to deal the issue,” said education minister M A Baby. According to the United Nations, India has the world’s largest HIV caseload, with an estimated 5.7 million people living with the virus. AIDS activists say lack of awareness and widespread stigma and discrimination have contributed to a paranoia about the disease, and there have been a number of reports of infected children being expelled from schools and patients denied treatment at hospitals. In February, a local newspaper reported that a sick woman in eastern India was beaten to death by her in-laws because they suspected she had AIDS and feared she would infect the entire family. Source: InfoChange India |
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