Dessy Sagita – A school that earned the ire of the nation for rejecting, on World AIDS Day last week, a 6-year-old student because her father was HIV positive apologized on Monday but claimed its actions were due to "ignorance."
"The foundation admits that it happened because of ignorance and probably because the message was not conveyed properly," Handi Pranata, an adviser to the Panca Dharma foundation that manages the Don Bosco private school in North Jakarta, said on Monday.
The statement followed a mediation meeting conducted by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono and AIDS Prevention Commission (KPA) secretary Nafsiah Mboi.
The Don Bosco elementary school in Kelapa Gading had requested that the father of the girl, Fajar Jasmin Sugandhi, who lives with HIV, provide a letter explaining that his daughter was free from the virus. The school said it could not accept her if she turned out positive.
Fajar rejected the demand, saying he did not want his daughter to be discriminated against.
Then the girl's mother, Leonnie Merinsca, received a text message from the school saying that it was canceling the enrollment of her daughter because other parents had objected to the girl's presence.
"We are not ashamed to admit our ignorance," Handi said. "Honestly, we did not know that we cannot force someone to undergo an HIV test. We did not understand that the test should be taken voluntarily."
On behalf of the foundation, Handi also issued an apology for insulting Fajar's family and said his daughter could study at the school if her parents still wanted her to. Handi had said earlier that the rejection was because the school had no facilities to care for an HIV-positive student.
The adviser also said that in cooperation with the city's education office, the school would launch a campaign next Tuesday to educate teachers and parents about HIV/AIDS so that they could avoid incidents like this in the future.
Meanwhile, the girl's father said he harbored no grudges against the school and would not take legal recourse. "I appreciate that the foundation was not too ashamed to admit its mistake and I have fully forgiven it," Fajar said.
He added that he found it more important to try to prevent any more children falling victim to the widespread prejudice against and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Leonnie said that despite all the ruckus, her daughter "continues to hope that she can go to school there, and we might consider her wish." The parents had earlier said they no longer wanted to place their daughter at Don Bosco.