HEALTHY STUDENTS – HEALTHY NATION
Dr. Sulieman N. Al-Shehri, PhD
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The relationship between academic achievement and the status of student health is acknowledged by the National Education Policy and Goals of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Among its directives are the following: (1) Students are to start school with healthy minds, bodies and mental alertness necessary for learning. (2) There should be safe and disciplined school environment to ensure a physical and psychological well being of students. (3) An opportunity for all students to acquire healthy life skills and health education. (4) The maintenance of the development and the growth of the students “psychosocially, mentally and physically” in the school set-up, should be in circumstances similar to the home situation governed by Islamic teachings. (5) Free health care (preventive and curative) should be provided to all students.
Today's children are the citizens of tomorrow's nation. Their survival, protection and development are, therefore, the prerequisite for the future development of this country. Empowerment of the younger generation with knowledge and resources to meet their basic human needs and enable them to grow to their full potential should be a primary goal of national development. As their individual development and social contribution will shape the future of the country, investment in children's health, nutrition and education is the vital foundation for national development.
It is evident that good health improves learning potentials, so for students to be able to attend school regularly and take full advantage of opportunities provided by schools, they must be in a state of health that enables them to do so. Also, the improvement of the ability to learn and the performance at school requires school-based effort to improve health. However, it is also obvious that schooling improves health. The impact of schooling is evident in the benefits to maternal and child health by the marked reduction of mortality among young women who had had some schooling.
In 1993, the World Bank and WHO made a comparison of the cost effectiveness of various public health programmes and concluded that a school health programme that provided safe and low cost health services, such as deworming treatments, and health education was one of the most cost-effective investments a nation could make to improve health. Programmes to expand immunization and micronutrient supplementation, increase knowledge about nutrition, and health care, reduce the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and prevent AIDS and STDs are of great value and were listed among the most cost-effective investments in health. Clearly school health plays a major role in these programmes. Consequently, investment in school health programmes is perhaps the “very best of the best”.
Although schools have the potential to improve health through education, all too often, they do not take advantage of, nor utilize that capacity. Indeed, many schools in diverse ways put the health of the students and school personnel at risk. These dangers could be eliminated altogether or reduced with better resources.
The goals “Health for All” and “Education for All” express The United Nations’ commitment to health and education. Because these goals are inseparably linked and must be worked at concurrently for their realization, much cooperative and concerted effort are required from health and education organizations at all levels. The impetus for action resides with individuals. Both young and old can play a vital role in supporting school health by asking and trying to resolve questions such as these: Does our school promote health? Is our school a healthy environment for work? Does our school help students, school personnel and their families address their health needs? What can I do both personally and with others to bring about the needed change?
Schools can serve as a means for
