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Schools To Health-Screen Children
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | November 18, 2007 | 498 views
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“Children are the responsibility of not only the parents but also the states. So many kids in India suffer from basic ailments. If a proper checkup is done at school level, we can nip the problem in the bud.” says RAMESH CHANDRA, the Director of Health, A.P.
School children and parents have a new reason to smile. The Union Health and HRD ministry have decided to attend to the basic health check-ups of all school kids from classes five to 12.
Under this proposed national school health programme to be implemented from next year, regular yearly check-ups for kids nationwide - both in private and public schools will be conducted. Children will be screened free of cost for different types of diseases including heart ailments, diabetes, vitamin deficiencies among others.
With rapidly changing lifestyle of children, many of them start suffering from diseases like diabetes from a very early stage. The health programme aims to address these problems at the initial stages. The director of health, Andhra Pradesh, Dr Ramesh Chandra welcomed the decision of the Centre. “Children are the responsibility of not only the parents but also the states. So many young kids in our country suffer from basic ailments like anemia or worms. If proper checkup is done at school level, we can nip the problem in the bud,” says Chandra.
While small scale health programmes are being conducted in private and government schools, this plan will cover all the schools in the country. Snehlata Mathur, principle of Roots High School says, “This is a welcome move by the government. Personally, we have regular ENT and dental check-ups in school, but such large scale projects will be beneficial for the health of kids across the country.” While the government has indeed taken a positive step, it has to be ensured that proper measures are taken for the implementation of the programme. Vimla Chandrasekhar, principal of Glendale Academy says, “Health check-up for kids is a very serious affair but not every school pursues it. I think a decision like this will prove to be wonderful, but the commitment has to be 100 per cent from all sides. The medical practitioners should also take this up seriously and not turn it into a routine affair.”
While the director of health also agreed that proper planning, plen ty of manpower and support from the all concerned quarters alone can only turn the scheme into a success, the involvement of the doctors is of paramount importance. Dr K.V. Ravi Kishore, consultant ENT surgeon, Image hospital, Ameerpet says, “Doctors must realise that it is their responsibility to keep a check on children’s health. So despite their busy schedules, they must find time for periodic check-ups for school kids. In western countries, this practice has been there for long and it is high time we too provide basic check-up for kids.”
Parents of course are enthusiastic about the government’s initiative. But like the teachers, they also feel that necessary planning should be done for the plan to be executed successfully. Jasmine Lakhani, a homemaker and mother of two says, “Many schools today have health check programmes, but mostly those are not thorough check-ups. The government should have clear objectives and aims and implement it in a manner that the programme doesn’t fizzle out after the initial step.”
SOURCES:
Deccan Chronicle
Topics: Latest Trends, Health, Education, Govt In Action |
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