Kolkata: A five-year-old student was allegedly expelled from his school at Basirhat in North 24-Parganas after it became known that his father was HIV-positive. The incident sparked outrage with the family lodging a complaint at the sub-divisional officer’s office on Thursday. The child’s father is now undergoing treatment for HIV in a govt hospital. As the news spread, a teacher at the boy’s school allegedly asked him to leave, citing concerns linked to his father’s illness. But the teacher denied the expulsion. “I did not do anything wrong. The child was not expelled. I advised caution. This is a conspiracy against me,” she said.
The class 1 student has reportedly been prevented from attending school since Tuesday. “Unaware of his father’s condition, my five-year-old son went to school on Tuesday as usual. But he was stopped at the gate and asked to leave,” the child’s mother said. She added when she demanded an explanation, the teacher said “my husband has a bad illness, so my son cannot stay in the school.” The boy’s aunt added the local anganwadi centre continued to send food for the child daily, but the school’s decision left the family distressed. The family has also submitted a complaint to the child development project officer. An official from the Basirhat SDO office confirmed that a complaint was received. “If the teacher is found guilty, appropriate action will be taken,” he said.Health officials emphasised that misconceptions about HIV continued and led to discrimination.
