HIV+ TN kids deprived of Right to Education

TIRUCHY: Shocking incidents of discrimination against HIV positive children by teachers of government and aided schools have come to light in the district.According to statistics available with the Network of Network of Positive People in Tiruchy, (NPPT), about 150 children studying at schools and colleges are either the wards of HIV patients or they themselves are infected.“Due to discrimination and stigma, parents hesitate to disclose the status of their wards to school managements when they are being enrolled. They also fear that the children are isolated from other children which could affect them psychologically”, A Tamizh, President of NPPT said.Due to the social stigma at the educational institutions, two students from Musiri, one each from Lalgudi and Tiruverumbur, and three from Tiruchy schools drop­ped out of schools this year.“I had rashes on my body which took much time to heal and my teachers somehow found that my mother is HIV positive. Since then, teachers insisted that I find some other school,” Ramesh (name changed), a Class IV student from a city school said.Ramesh, who is living with his grandmother, had no other option but to change the school. “He was often punishments more severely compared to his classmates and so we had to change the school where no one knew his family background,” his grandmother said.But the plight of another Class II boy was worse. “Since all the teachers and parents of students in my school knew that my mother is living with HIV, my classmates called me “AIDS, AIDS”,” said the boy. “And, the teachers for no reason, insisted that I undergo a blood test once in six months. So we moved him to a school where no one knows my history,” his mother said.Meanwhile, a report said around 700 HIV infected kids are studying in educational institutes in Salem and the drop-out rate among them are very high.During a Chidren’s Day function, Kavitha of the Salem District Positive Network, recounted the story of Ramya, an HIV-affected Class VII student. Ramya had to frequently take leave to undergo treatment. When the school authorities became aware of her ailment, they insisted that she quit the institution. Similarly, Geetha (13), who lost her parents and brother to the infection, had to pull out of her school in Salem and take admission in an institution in Kancheepuram.