JOIN USEven the transfer of the 13-HIV positive students to another school proved to be insufficient to quell protests from the parents and teachers association (PTA) in Goa.
The PTA has now demanded that 23 other students, who lived in the same church-run children’s home as the HIV-positive students, be dropped from the school.
The Fatima High School in Rivona had last week been forced to transfer the 13 HIV-positive students after protests from the association.
Father Maverick Fernandes, a church official, was on Friday negotiating with the PTA over its demands for the removal of wards who came in contact with the HIV-positive students.
“We tried to allay the fears of parents about HIV. Some seemed to be convinced. We also informed them about the Supreme Court judgement which says that there cannot be discrimination against these students,” Fernandes said.
However, the meeting failed to break the deadlock with as many as 40 parents vowing to transfer their children from the school.
By Friday evening, parents of 25 children applied for transfer certificates.