Barred HIV-positive kids allowed back to school in India

A school in southern India allowed a group of HIV-positive children back to class after a six-month battle that has highlighted the stigma suffered by the country's
AIDS sufferers.

The Christian-affiliated school in the southern coastal state of Kerala, reputed to be one of the country's most progressive areas, had thrown out five children last December following complaints by the parents of other pupils.

Three of the five were infected with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, and the expulsion prompted intervention by the state government. All five children -- one boy and four girls aged between five and 11 -- were back in class on Monday, and relieved a part of their ordeal was over.

"We all love to go to school and study with our friends," said nine-year-old Jyoti, one of the children who had been shut out.

The school -- which has 65 students on its roll -- relented this month after the state government threatened to withdraw its permit to operate.

Authorities at the school insisted teachers were ready to accommodate the children, but added they would face an uphill struggle to convince the other parents.

"They didn't listen to our reasoning as a majority of the parents are ill-educated and poor," said headmistress Elsamma Mani.

During the ban, the children continued their studies at a non-profit home for the destitute and were able to sit for annual tests.

"They learn their lessons very fast and I enjoyed teaching them," said Annie Mathew, who taught them at the Asha Kiran (Ray of Hope) home, where 15 women with HIV and eight children live.

India, with a population of 1.1 billion, has 5.7 million people infected with HIV -- the world's highest in absolute numbers per country.

Officials said this month that under new data being compiled, the number of HIV-positive could be as low as 3.4 million.

Social activists welcomed the school's climb-down, but said the case merely served as a reminder of continued widespread discrimination.

"Though Kerala claims 100 per cent literacy, social discrimination against people with HIV is more evident in the state," said P.B. Bindu, secretary of Kerala Positive Women Network.

Bindu said nearly 2,000 women and 1,000 children living with HIV were facing social alienation in the state, among a handful of India's 29 states to claim 100 literacy rates.

In 2004, two children were shut out of another Kerala school after they were found to be HIV-positive.

"Even today, the attitude of society has not changed much. It's a shame for all," Bindu said.