For a State that claims to be progressive than most, the saga surrounding the fate of 13 HIV+ students who have been shunted between schools following protests from Parent-Teacher Associations of at least two schools, is an uncharecteristic blot on an otherwise progressive canvas.
The blot nonetheless has brought into spotlight Goa’s lesser known areas that are still very conservative. That as many as parents of 25 wards chose to remove their wards after the school and the Government went ahead and admitted the students against the protests of the parents goes to show that despite the uproar, little has changed in rural Goa.
Trouble first began after the students were sought to be admitted in a Don Bosco-run school at a village in Sulcorna in the sub-district of Quepem, around 50 kms from here. After an uproar, the students were shifted to another school Fatima High School in Rivona where they faced protests as well.The PTA now wants 23 non-HIV students, who live in the same Church-run children’s home along with the 13 HIV-positive students, to be dropped from the school.
Several members of the PTA were demanding that the Fatima High School in Rivona, 50 km south of Panaji, should not allow 23 non HIV students to continue in school, Father Maverick Fernandes, a Church official who was involved in negotiations with the parents in a meeting held Friday said.“We tried to allay the fears of the 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.
Fernandes said the 13 HIV students had been admitted to another school. The identity of the school has been kept secret, perhaps fearing another set of protests at the school where the 13 children have found admission.
With the Education Department hoping that the matter would end there, but barely a day later as many as 16 parents withdrew their wards from the school on account of the same stigma.
The Friday meeting was attended by the State Education Department officials, chairperson of State commission for protection of child rights, school management and the PTA, but failed to resolve the deadlock, with as many as 40 parents resolving to withdraw their children from the school.By evening 25 parents had already applied for a school leaving certificate, so that they could transfer them to other schools nearby.“We tried our best to convince the parents. But we insisted that the students cannot be removed from school,” said Ramkrisnhna Samant, deputy director (education) South Goa.
BJP MlA Subhash Phaldesai, who also tried to convince the parents to let the 23 non HIV students to continue in school, said the 150 odd parents at the meeting seemed to be convinced until the last minute, when they consolidated and stuck to their demand. “They wanted us to give in writing that the non HIV students will not be affected by HIV in the future. It is an unreasonable demand. It is extremely unfair. I feel for the children,” Phaldesai said.
The 13 students belong to a children's home called Nitya Seva Niketan located in the mining belt of Rivona in Quepem sub-district (45 km from here) and had been enrolled in an open school, before the nuns — who run the home — decided to admit them to a regular school this year.The Green Goa Foundation, a local NGO, issuing notice to State education director Anil Powar, asking him to ensure that the HIV-positive students are not denied their right to education.
“The parents have been demanding that the students be removed from the school, which is clearly not only unreasonable but also not legal... the school has been shut until the matter is resolved,” the official said wishing anonymity.The school management was forced to shutdown for a couple of days after the stand-off between the PTA and the school authorities. In his notice, Almeida said he would be forced to petition the Bombay High Court bench in Goa if the education department doesn't ensure admissions to the HIV-positive students.