HIV+ve children's dream to attend school remains unfulfilled

Kottayam, Jun 9 (UNI) The dream of six HIV positive children, the inmates of Asha Kiran at Pampady near here, to attend regular class with other children remains unfulfilled in the new academic year too.

The row over these children attending regular classes with other children started last year when the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of Mar Dionysious Lower Primary School objected to it.

Following the PTA's objection, the school authorities denied permission to the children to attend class in December last.

Later, the Asha Kiran authorities engaged special teachers to teach the children and they appeared for the annual examination in the school itself, as their names were not removed from the school register.

This year the school authorities expressed their inability to admit the children as the PTA was adamant and strongly opposed their entry.

The children were studying in the first, second, third and fourth standards.

Meanwhile, the school authorities were caught in a dilemma with the PTA, on one side, strongly opposing the children's entry and the State Government and the AIDS Control Board, on the other side, demanding the school authorities to admit the children and allow them to continue their studies in the school itself.

Though the school authorities were ready to admit the children, they could not go against the PTA, as it would disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the school.

P C Yohannan Ramban, the founder of Asha Kiran, said his intention was to teach the HIV affected at the centre itself but they were sent to the school following the AIDS Control Board's advice that the students should not be discriminated and must be allowed to mingle with other children.

He said he was against creating a controversy in the name of children.

If the government issued an order to send the children to the school he was ready for that. It was for the government to resolve the issue, he added.

Asha Kiran works for rehabilitation of HIV affected children and mothers. Presently, there were eight children and five mothers in the centre from different parts of the state and outside.

UNI