Comprehensive School Health Programme and Release of School Health Manuals in Four Volumes

Children are the greatest asset of a country and those in school have a right to happy and healthy life within the school environment as well as at home. Investment in the health of children is an investment in the future of the nation. It is essential to build on the components of knowledge relating to health and nutrition, develop healthy attitudes and enhance life skills to overcome the multiple health concerns affecting school going children both in the urban and remote areas of the country.

This is further to our circulars (No. 09 dated 31.5.2006 and No. 29 dated 20.6.2007) on Comprehensive School Health Programme in which the CBSE Board has requested schools to set up ‘Health Clubs’ in order to implement the Comprehensive School Health Programme. It is heartening to note that some of the schools affiliated with the CBSE Board have responded positively in this regard.

Comprehensive School health Programme and Health Manuals

The objectives of the School Health Club as mentioned in the earlier circular are also being reiterated:

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 concems.

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 distress, cope with emotional and social behaviour and to clarify misconceptions regarding adolescent 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 l) etc.

Health Manuals

The Comprehensive School Health Manuals address a basic gap in schooling that has crept in over the years. School Health has somehow been relegated to sporadic health check-ups or in some cases a few hours of health instruction in the curriculum. It was imperative that something is done urgently to take up the issue of holistic health in school going children which includes physical, mental, emotional and psychological health. The school Health Policy and now the Manuals propose to view health holistically, utilize all educational opportunities for health promotion including formal and informal approaches in curriculum/pedagogy. Providing a safe school environment an activity oriented health education curriculum to avoid health-related risk behavior, ensuring physical fitness activities and sports, providing nutrituous snacks in the school canteen, ensuring access to primary health care services and integrated family and community activities and a staff health promotion policy are some of the expectations that a school should fulfill.

There are four Manuals in this package. The first Manual-Vol I is addressed to all stakeholders concerned with school health. The other three Manuals are activity based manuals for teachers. Vol II is Teachers Activity Manual which consist of activities for Primary Level (Classes I-V), Vol III is Teacher’s Manual for Upper Primary Level (Classes VI-VIII) and Vol IV is Teachers’ Manual for Secondary and Senior Secondary Level (Classes IX-XII)). The activities revolve around six different themes - Knowing your Body, Food and Nutrition, Personal and Environmental Hygiene, Physical Fitness, Being Responsible and Safe and Behaviour and Life Skills. The objectives of the modules and activities is to focus on the different aspects of growth and age appropriate development of the child.

The Manuals are holistic in their approach since they deal with not only physical health but also mental, social, emotional and spiritual well being. Their uniqueness lies in their participative and interactive approach. The activities mentioned can be easily incorporated in the classroom transaction, keeping in mind that hands on learning is internalized faster than conventional learning. It is also recommended that teachers may modify or customize the activities according to their social, cultural and demographic needs.

The activities for teachers in each Section are suggestive and it is earnestly hoped that they will carry on the spirit of each section through curriculum plus intervention strategies within the school. The activities are learner centred and will help to empower them to construct knowledge for themselves in a classroom or out of the class setting.

The graded activities provided in the manual follow outcome based approach to learning, teaching and assessment. They are positive in attitude and stress on developing health promoting habits from an early age which emphasizes the concept of learning throughout life.

For the success of the school health programme it has to be developed and implemented by a strong indigenous group committed teachers under the guidance of the dynamic head of the organization as well as a committed management. A special feature of this development would be a cooperative, caring and concerned atmosphere which it is hoped will be the key note of the school learning environment while implementing the progrramme.

The integration of school and community efforts should be related where the school is regarded as a social unit providing a focal point from which the school may reach out to the family to the local community and to the community at large as a whole which in turn may support the efforts of the school.

It is hoped that the Health Manuals will foster the need to provide for a healthy environmel for each child studying in a school and in that sense the CBSE Comprehensive School Health Program is dedicated to all children.