Beyond the school

The Red Ribbon School currently has 25 students, 16 of them are in the third year of junior school and will attend the high school entrance examination this year. Since the school doesn't have a high school teacher, Guo contacted a local high school, which agreed to send teachers to Red Ribbon to teach a small class. "Six of our students are quite good in terms of their academic performance; I hope they go to university one day. The major of computer science, which doesn't need physical labor, is quite suitable for our students in college," said Guo.

The school's fame also attracted many underage HIV carriers from other provinces, but Guo refused them all. "Relatives of 10 children, aged 7 and 8 years old, contacted us, but we suggested they ask a local orphanage or an NGO for help. Our ability is limited, the current 25 students are all from Shanxi Province."

Guo also rejected the possibility of opening more Red Ribbon Schools nationwide. "I am good at running a hospital, not a school. The school was established by accident and this model won't suit other provinces or hospitals; these children's parents were my patients too, and their children are special to me," Guo said.

But despite saying that building similar schools in other provinces would be a waste of resources, he plans to keep his school running.

According to Chung To, founder of the Chi Heng Foundation, this model of education for HIV carriers is not worth copying. "Confining the children in an enclosed school would make it harder for them to integrate into society.

"People can build primary schools or even high schools for them, but they cannot give them an enclosed university that is only open to HIV carriers," To told the Global Times, also expressing concern that establishing an isolated school for these people would send the message that they should be quarantined.

Over the past 12 years the Chi Heng Foundation has provided funds to assist 16,400 AIDS-impacted children in China. Instead of building AIDS schools, the foundation encourages students to go to normal schools. "We tell local school headmasters that it is illegal to turn down HIV carriers, so most children can join the schools. In total, 2,000 of them have entered university so far, some have even become doctors," said To. "Placing the children in normal schools helps them integrate purposefully with children not affected by HIV/AIDS. These efforts aim to give them a stronger sense of community and belonging, and further decrease their sense of social stigma and isolation."

But Guo also pointed out that his students need to take anti-viral drugs twice daily and forgetting can have serious ramifications, such as building up a resistance to the drug. "The underage lack self-control, so when they live together it is easier for teachers to supervise them and ensure they take medicine on time. After they enter college, it would not be a problem any more," he said.