NHRC notice to Kerala Govt on HIV positive children

New Delhi, Dec 12 (UNI) Taking suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report on five HIV positive children being thrown out of their school in Kerala, NHRC has sent notices to the state Government and sought a factual report in two weeks.

The Commission has directed the secretaries of the state Health and Family Welfare Department and the General Education Department to look into the matter and send the report within two weeks.

''If the contents of the report are true, it raises a serious issue of human rights violation,'' NHRC said.

The December 8 news report said the five HIV positive orphaned children, in the age group of 4-10, were thrown out of their school in Kottayam after parents of other children threatened to pull out their wards because of the infected children.

''The orphanage where they live had kept their HIV positive status under wraps, but after they participated in the World Aids Day function on December 1 their pictures were splashed in newspapers,'' the report said.

The five children are confined to their room in the orphanage.

''The Secretary of the school where they were studying is reported to have commented that their presence would spell doom for the school,'' it added.

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