TEAM HERALD
SANGUEM: With the school management and government authorities remaining firm on continuing with education to the 23 uninfected children at the Rivona School, a high-level meeting on Friday failed to break the deadlock with the agitating parents.
At least 19 parents are now learnt to have begun the process of withdrawing their children from the school, while about 40 others are also reportedly planning to follow suit.
A special meeting convened in the school premises on Friday was attended by Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldessai, Quepem Deputy Collector Ajit Panchwadkar, Sanguem Mamlatdar Shankar Gaonkar, Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairman Sameera Kazi, Deputy Director of Education Sawant, ADEI Sanguem Dinkar Rane, Director of Caritas Goa Fr Maverick Fernandes, Rivona School Manager Fr Lino Florindo, nuns attached to the orphanage and the sarpanch and panchayat members of Rivona panchayat.
The meeting had been convened to persuade the agitating parents to allow the 23 uninfected children from an orphanage at Zambaulim-Rivona to pursue education at the church-managed school in Rivona. The 13 HIV+ students from the convent, who were initially pursuing education in the school, were subsequently shifted elsewhere in the State, following protests from the parents.
Before the meeting with the parents could start, the school management and other officials took part in a preliminary meeting on ways to deliberate on the sensitive issue with the parents. They decided to engage in a fruitful dialogue with the parents to avoid alienating them.
Addressing the parents at the meeting, Phaldessai tried his best to explain to the parents that the 23 children, irrespective of their health conditions, had every right to continue to study in the school, as no authority could deny them admission to the school.
The MLA said he would stand with the school management and said the demands of the parents were not within the law.
School Manager Fr Lino Florindo said the school management stood firm in continuing education for the 23 children and appealed to parents to allow the smooth functioning of the school.
Goa State Commission for Protection of Childs Rights Chairman Sameera Kazi sought an apology from the parents for not taking up the issue seriously at the initial stage.
In an effort to avoid similar incidents from occurring in future, Kazi assured to conduct regular seminars and trainings to the teachers on the rights of children, as envisaged under the Children’s Act.
The agitating parents were, however, in no mood to listen to the authorities and sought to know why the issue was not taken up by authorities, when admissions of the same students were withdrawn by a school in Sulcorna, following protests by those parents.
“If their health status was clean, why were these students withdrawn from the Sulcrona school,” asked a parent.
The officials, however, stuck to the Supreme Court guidelines and the rules envisaged under the Children’s Act.
Immediately after the meeting, some 19 parents are reportedly learnt to have submitted their applications to the school authorities seeking the withdrawal of their children from the school.
It is also reportedly learnt that some 40-45 parents are likely to apply for leaving certificates of their children.
