School Fined Sh650,000 for Expelling HIV-Positive Student
The HIV and Aids Tribunal ordered Najah Primary School in Garissa to pay the mother of a Grade 2 pupil Sh650,000 for stigmatization and discrimination.
The HIV and Aids Tribunal ruled that Najah Primary School in Garissa was wrong to expel the 12-year-old child due to his HIV status.
The pupil, who was on medication when he enrolled in 2019, had devised ways to take ARVs without other students knowing.
The parent had tasked the boy’s elder brother, who was in the same institution, to ensure that he took the medicine without fail and at the right time.
However, when the school discovered the minor’s HIV status, the administration sent him home.
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The woman testified that the school even offered her Sh10,000 to withdraw the pupil from the school, but the institution only sent Sh600.
She said the boy dropped out due to depression. Despite being sued, Najah and one Mohamed Noor never responded to the case.
HIV and Aids Tribunal Rules Against School
The five-member tribunal, led by Carolyne Mboku, found it unfair and illegal for the school to expel the minor because of his HIV status.
Mboku said there was evidence that Najah had paid the money in a bid to have the mother transfer or withdraw the child.
The Tribunal ruled that the demand to transfer the minor out of the school upon learning of his HIV status constituted discrimination, in violation of Section 32 of the Act.
The Tribunal observed that people living with HIV who experience stigma are more likely to delay enrollment in care than those who do not perceive stigma.
Furthermore, discrimination in healthcare settings drives people living with or at risk of HIV underground.
They noted that this seriously undermines the ability to reach people with HIV testing, treatment, and prevention services.
Stigma and discrimination are an affront to human rights, putting the lives of people living with HIV and key populations in danger.
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The Tribunal also noted that the woman had testified that the boy no longer goes to school as a result of Najah’s action.
They observed that the school administrators’ discrimination and stigmatization of a 12-year-old minor, to the extent of preventing him from attending school, was unfortunate and went against the minor’s best interests.
They consequently awarded the mother Sh400,000 for discrimination and an additional Sh250,000 as compensation for the suffering the school had caused.
School Fined Sh650,000 for Expelling HIV-Positive Student
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