Students health services and health cards
People who go to educational institutions to gain knowledge are known as
students. Students stay at school from 6 – 16 years. They have to stay at
school for 7 to 8 hours a day. 6 days a week and 7 or 8 months a year. The
time of their stay at school is highly important for them to grow as good
citizens of the country.
School should give special attention to the health of the students for their
all-round development. If furniture, teaching materials, etc are congenial for
students’ health, their bodies and mind will develop properly. School is the
best place for mental development and building moral character. Students
acquire good qualities under the guidance of an ideal teacher. Similarly, for
all-around physical development with a good environment, clean system,
classroom with sufficient light and ventilation, open playground and gardens
is called healthful school.
Following areas should emphasize the better health service of students –
a) School building: School building should be located in such an open
place where light and air can enter from all sides and where people can move
easily.
b) Playground: Student life without games cannot be imagined. There
should be a playground adjacent to the school. So that students can
participate in various games and sports throughout the year.
c) Healthful sanitation: There should be an arrangement for healthful
sanitation a little away from the school building and there should be a
sufficient supply of water.
d) Pure water supply: The supply of pure water is one of the components
of health service. In townspeople should boil supplied water before they drink
it; in villages the water of deep tube well is pure and people can drink it
directly. Water from any other source like ponds, rivers, etc. should be
boiled before drinking.
e) Classroom and furniture: Necessary steps to be taken so that
classrooms and furniture are not unhealthy.
f) School Health Programme: School Health Programme is a very important
issue to ensure health service for students. Students are attacked by various
diseases in summer, rainy sessions, and winter. Precaution in this respect
helps to keep away from those seasonal diseases. Students can remain free from
common diseases through participation in school health programs.
Salient features of School Health Programmes are as follows
Regular Medical examination of students: Every school should have a
systematic medical examination of students, first aid facilities, and healtful
school environment. A doctor can work as an inspector of this program. Under
the supervision of the civil surgeon of each district, health inspectors can
examine students’ health and advice treatment for different diseases.
The school authority will help the school’s inspector with all possible
assistance. The health inspector will examine the age, weight, blood group,
blood pressure, pulse rate, physical structure, eyes, teeth, heart, lung, etc.
of each student and record them on a card. This is called a student health
card.
Health Service Centre: Where there is no school health program a
general teacher should be given training on health services to solve common
health problems. If a student is seriously sick they can be sent to the
nearest health service center or be admitted to the hospital. At present, one
can get health service from the union health and family welfare center,
Upazila complex, district Sadar hospital, or a specialized hospital.
Students health card: A health card is a thick paper with
health-related information printed on it.
The health card will carry the following information:
