“What must he have been thinking? How sad must he have been?”
An 11-year-old Chinese boy with cancer was separated from his classmates because his teacher thought he was contagious.
As reported by SCMP, a primary schoolteacher in China forced a student to sit apart from his classmates on the grounds that his cancer might be contagious.
Identified only as Zhou, the 11-year-old moved to Quanzhou in Fujian province in September to be closer to his parents whilst undergoing chemotherapy.
The young boy is suffering from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a type of cancer that develops in the body’s immune system in cells called lymphocytes.
Zhou Xiongying, his father, realised his son was not marked for his midterm languages examination. His son then told him that his teacher would not allow him to sit near the other students or take the exam as he might be contagious.
Several students were reportedly removed from the boys class after he enrolled.
“My son just sat there for 45 minutes during the exams,” Zhou Snr said. “What must he have been thinking? How sad must he have been?”
The boy’s headmaster, identified as Ye, said the school is taking steps to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, the teacher in question is currently on sick leave.