A recent incidence in Latur village indicates the stereotype attitude of people towards the HIV+ people. It seems that crores of rupees spent by the government on the awareness programs haven’t been able to change the attitude of the people.

With the efforts of Aamhi Sevak Sanstha, a local NGO eight HIV+ children were enrolled in the school run by the zilla parishad (district council).

Since then, parents have been pressuring the school to expel those kids in fear that their own children will be affected.

Head Master, Zilla Parishad School Hasegaon said that out of 204 students of the school, 147 were reportedly missing from school.

District council education officer Vilas Joshi said the authorities would make separate schooling arrangements for the boys, if the villagers could not be persuaded to reconsider their decision. But the decision will only be taken on Sunday when the district's guardian minister, Dilip Deshmukh, visits Latur.

Ravi Bapatle, chairman of the NGO, said he established Aamhi Sevak Sanstha two years ago, bought a plot in Hasegaon, and constructed a few rooms to house HIV+ boys. This year he brought the eight boys, all orphans, and got them admitted to the district council school.

Despite the efforts of local authorities and the NGO, the villagers are not ready to allow their children to study with HIV positive children.