A teacher at an elementary school in Huai’an, China, has drawn widespread flak for separating an 11-year-old pupil from the rest of her class and barring him from taking an important exam, believing the boy to be “contagious” since he was once diagnosed with cancer.
The boy, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, beat cancer after undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy. According to the Beijing News, the boy’s parents only enrolled him into the new school after he was pronounced cancer-free.
The boy’s father, Zhou, was furious after he discovered how his son was being treated at his school when the boy returned home without his mid-term examination results.
When Zhou pressed his son, the boy revealed that he was barred from taking the examination and made to sit away from the rest of the pupils, at the back of the class, since his teacher believed he was “contagious”.
The principal of the elementary school has launched an investigation into the matter after the boy’s parents brought their allegations of discrimination against their son to the school.