JOIN USDept changes parents' hearts on HIV+ issue
Around 20 per cent of the school’s children are HIV positive and parents of the normal children had stopped their wards from attending the school for the last two days. The parents had demanded the Education Department to make separate arrangements for HIV positive students in the school. Of the total school strength of 100 students half of them were absent. Officials of the department educated the parents on how people get infected by HIV.
Education Department conducted awareness meeting for the parents in which Taluk Health Office R B Bajantri detailed on the modes of HIV infection spreading from one person to another. Dr Bajantri informed the parents that merely sitting together in classrooms or by playing together doesn't lead to spreading of HIV infection.
Many parents expressed they were worried about the health of their children. Some stood rigid on their stand and demanded separate arrangements for normal children and threatened to stop their wards from attending school.
Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) V M Patil clarified to the parents that HIV positive students cannot be discriminated as per the circular of the government. He assured the parents that health check-up camps for the students would be conducted on a monthly basis and said their fear that HIV could spread by being together in classrooms or playing was baseless as researches and studies do not support such transmission.
Teacher misleads students
A baseless fear and ignorance about HIV-AIDS on the part of a government school teacher here led to parents of many students stopping their children from attending school.
Members of Spandana, a NGO working for the HIV positives with its office just opposite the school had admitted the children to the school in June. The teacher, who became aware of the fact took up the issue with the members of School Development Management Committee (SDMC). Besides, she started discriminating HIV positive children.