Comprehensive School Health Programme and Creating Health Club in the school.

Childhood and adolescence form the most joyful period of an individual’s life. They are times of immense creative energy, self-discovery and exploration of the world. They can also be fraught with feelings of isolation, loneliness and confusion. They can be due to various factors relating to the physical, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual well being of the younger generation. Schools, families and communities need to play a positive and responsible role in bringing up young children in a healthy environment which would enable each one to maximize their potential.

Schools can be dynamic settings for promoting health, for enabling children to grow and mature into healthy adults. Yet the potential of the school to enhance health is often underutilized. ‘School Health’ has largely remained confined to medial check-ups of children or some hours of health instruction in the curriculum. There is a growing recognition that the health and psychosocial well-being of children and youth is of fundamental value and the schools can provide a strategic means of improving children’s health, self-esteem, life skills and behaviour. Although schools have undertaken many initiatives in promoting school health, the comprehensiveness and sustainability in these initiatives is not clearly laid out. The need of the hour is a comprehensive school health policy integrated within the school system.

The Central CBSE Board of Secondary Education suggests that schools plan out a Comprehensive School Health Programme which could be initiated through HEALTH CLUB in each school to begin with.

Need For Creating Health Clubs in Schools

Healthy living in case of school children is the prime concern of all stakeholders including principals, parents, teachers and the community. To achieve this objective collective responsibility needs to be assumed. An important dimension is that of experience and development of health skills and physique through practical engagements with play, exercises, sports and practices of personal and community hygiene.

Health and Wellness Clubs in Schools would focus on the overall well being comprising emotional, social and mental health of the child. It would act as the enabling and organizational point for conducting activities related to various dimensions of health and wellness. A Health Card needs to be created for students which would form a continuous part of their growth and development. This could form an effective monitoring and feedback system for the overall health of a child during his schooling.

Constitution of a Health Club

• Principal as Convener
• Counselor/Psychologist/P.T. Teacher/Nodal Teacher as Secretary
• Student representative (one boy and one girl from each level)
• Identified teachers from each level
• Parent for each level (preferably a doctor)

Responsibilities of the Health Club

• As an organizer of all health relevant activities (at least 8-10 activities in the year at each level)
• As a Resource Centre for the overall well being of students

Objectives of the Health Club

• To create Health Cards for each student
• To create a health newspaper at least twice a year/poster competition related to health issues
• To conduct surveys on health related concerns
• To organize ‘health walks’ as part of social campaigns
• To organize health fairs and immunization projects
• To tap the local resources in the community to arrange health talks
• To render service in any area affected by a disaster or a calamity
• To create health help line within the school to distess, cope with emotional and social behaviour and to clarify misconceptions regarding sexual and reproductive health
• To teach the students techniques of yoga and meditation from an early age
• To inculcate in the students healthy and positive ways of living
• To teach health songs on various health topics
• Celebration of important days (World Health Day, April 7)
• Creating awareness regarding ‘World No Tobacco Day’ (May 31), ‘World AIDS Day’ (December 1) etc.

The CBSE Board is suggesting a plethora of activities in Annexure A for various levels which can be conducted as part of co-curricular inputs during the calendar year. The activities mentioned here are recommended as pointers and many more can be added as per local needs and requirement. The CBSE Board is also in the process of preparing a Manual on a Comprehensive School Health Program which will be available shortly.