Amid mounting opposition from parents to their presence in a school in Kottayam district in Kerala, five HIV positive children stayed away from classes on Tuesday, a day after several parents refused to send their wards to the institution.
Sources in 'Asha Kiran,' the rehabilitation centre where the children are staying, said the children were not being sent to Mar Dionysius primary school here as 'proper attention' was not being given to them.
The afflicted children, who are studying in standards 2 and 3 classes, will be sent to school only after the decision of the committee of the Parents Teachers Association, formed to sort out the issue, is known, the sources said.
Thirty of the fifty students in these classes attended school on Tuesday.
The school teachers going to the rehabilitation centre to teach the five children is being considered to resolve the issue amid reports that some parents might withdraw their wards if the children are permitted in the school.
Sister Alpho Drace of 'Asha Kiran' said the centre would not like to see the children being discriminated in the school. Education minister M A Baby said the government will ensure that the five children are not deprived of education.
The Aids control society has also asked 'Asha Kiran' the reason for not sending the kids to the school.
The five children were disallowed to continue their studies in the school in December last after parents of other students came to know about their HIV status.
It was only after pressure from the government that school authorities decided to re-admit them this month.
