India schools bar HIV children

SCHOOLS in India's western state of Maharashtra have shut their doors to HIV-positive children, denying them access to education because of objections by parents of other children, a newspaper report said Friday.

A majority of the 40 children at Bhagini Nivedita, a special hostel for HIV-affected children in southern Sangli city have been denied entry by four state-run schools, the Indian Express reported.

"I know I'm going to die soon, but before I breathe my last, I want to enter a classroom and sit with boys and girls of my age," a 12-year-old whose name was not revealed told the newspaper.

A teacher who requested anonymity said parents of other children were adamant about not allowing HIV affected students to share the same rooms as their own children.

"They have put immense pressure on the school managements to keep them out," the teacher told the Express.

Meanwhile, the HIV-infected students have been doing their studies at the hostel. They are to go to the schools only once a year when they are taken to isolated examination halls for their annual exams.

While school authorities refused to comment on the issue, state education minister Hassan Mushrif promised action and said he would take up the matter with the local administration.

This is the latest in a series of similar cases in India, which has the highest number of HIV infections in the world — an estimated 5.7 million cases, according to the UNAids.

There is a great deal of stigma in India attached to the virus, which health experts blame on a low level of awareness.

According to independent surveys, many Indian children infected with HIV are being denied access to education and medical treatment because of their condition. As instances of schools expelling infected children abound, the Indian government has come in for strong criticism for not doing enough to address the situation.

Schools have also been criticised over the lack of concrete information available about the disease, relating to how to prevent its spread and how to combat discrimination.

Earlier this month, local news outlets reported that five HIV-positive children in the southern state of Kerala who were turned away from school last year had failed to get readmission.

Earlier in 2002, two such children named Benson and Bensy had staged a protest before the state secretariat to get admission to a school.

DPA