“To learn effectively, children
need good health”
Development of children and quality of their learning depends on a number of
factors, including their own health status. Health promoting behavior inculcated
by the school not only contributes in physical development and health care of
students, its spin-off improves awareness about health issues among the parents
and local community as well. Strong relationship between health of students and
their learning had inspired planners and educators to hundred years ago in
developed countries to launch health related interventions in schools.
Gradually, developing countries are also realizing importance of school health
program for quality education and over health of the society, and are
introducing its various components in their education systems. A number of
factors influence the physical and mental health of school children, and their
learning process. These factors include health conditions of the children
themselves, physical and social environment in their school, quality of life of
their parents, their own knowledge about health promoting practices, and
availability of health services around them ( UNESCO,2010).
Educational systems play a crucial role in health promotion. Education in itself
plays a part in improving health (Symons, et al, 1997). It enables children and
adolescents to acquire a broad range of skills, and in this way has an influence
on their health(Keating and Hertzman, 1999). The problems of primary education
in Pakistan can be traced back to the very inception of the country when the
newly independent state inherited an already defined system of education. This
system was weak, poorly managed and classified. The system could not be reformed
according to the needs and social genre of the people (Sheikh and Rasool, 1998).
Education sector not only trains or prepares human resources needed for the
economy; it also produces leadership for various spheres of life. The leadership
coming out of the educational institutions influences social and political
dynamics in the country. Teachers, professors, and education managers enjoy
respect in the community, and they have the potential to contribute
significantly as catalysts of social change and development. According to latest
statistics issued, over 34 million children and young people of age 5-24 are
enrolled in 228,304 educational institutions in Pakistan (Pakistan Economic
Survey (2008-09), Ministry of Finance, Govt. of Pakistan, Islamabad,page 161).
There is a need to reach out this important population group, the future
builders of Pakistan. School Health Program will yield following benefits to the
country:
• Reduction in dropout rate
• Enhancement of quality of education and learning outcomes
• Improvement in health conditions of young population
• Disease control and an overall improvement in health conditions in the society
at large.
School health programs contribute in improving both health indicators among
children as well as enhancing efficiency of the education system.There is an
urgent need to plan and launch a comprehensive School Health Program under the
auspices and partnership of Ministries of Health, Environment and Education, and
with the technical support from various UN agencies and other donors and
professional organizations.
In conclusion, the potential for school health education to improve health and
save lives is significant. If we as a nation want to keep children and
adolescents healthy, it is important to find better ways to provide quality
school health education.