School ban ends for HIV pupils

A SCHOOL in southern India allowed a group of HIV-positive children back to class yesterday 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, denied five children access last December after complaints by the parents of other pupils.

Three of the five were infected with HIV 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 yesterday, relieved a part of their ordeal was over.