By HARBGUY MWAMBAZI –
MANY parents are interested in the basic academic education of their children such as reading, writing, and arithmetic but are not keen to find out it their kids learn about health matters.
It is fitting to say that parents do not ask their children about that part of learning because it has not been implemented in schools.
The Zambian educational system has a history of upholding other optional subjects such as physical education, wood work, home economics and arts, leaving out the other optional aspect of a health subject.
No one can negate the fact that a comprehensive health education programme is an important part of the curriculum for pupils in schools both in rural and urban areas.
Members of the public are concerned and have expressed their opinions as regards the matter, arguing that having health education in schools will be a good step in making both male and female pupils gain more knowledge.
Others have argued that bringing on board health education will be meaningless because pupils already have biology as one subject that also addresses issues of health.
Patrick Mtolo, a teacher at Chibombo Secondary School in Chibombo District said that introducing health education will just overload the pupils.
“Adding health education subjects in schools does not mean that students will grasp the fundamentals of health issues required in their day to day lives. At grades eight to nine, you have environmental science and from grades 10-12 you have biology, meaning that health education is covered already. We don’t want to load them with a lot of additional subjects when other subjects are there,” he said.
However, Mthunzi Medical Centre doctor in charge, Robert Mtonga said even though the subject will not be in depth like the one for students in the school of medicine, it will at least lay a foundation on health education.
“It will help make pupils more knowledgeable and be able to make informed decisions on health matters. This lays a very good foundation for any pupil just to know the basic elements involved in health education,” he said.
He said that health education will not just be a way of enhancing pupils’ knowledge regarding health but will work towards nurturing them into appreciating the subject.
“The goal of this branch of education is not only to increase your child’s health knowledge like biology and environmental health, but to create positive attitudes in our students’ well-being as well as promote healthy behaviour,” he said.
Dr Mtonga said health education was part of learning which should be taken as a subject in schools mainly because the pupils will grow up with necessary practical knowledge in that order.
“Once you tackle this kind of education in schools, you will notice that pupils will grow with the knowledge. Pupils will know how to deal with common ailments, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation and other important health issues,” he said.
Dr Mtonga added that health education should not just be part of the curriculum but it should be a way of life.
“It is important that when we have our young ones in schools, we also stress the value for them to remember to apply that in their everyday lives. For example, now as we are already in the winter season, it should be a goal to teach pupils about diarrheal diseases, because when it rains water becomes contaminated,” he said.
Simon Dakar, a doctor at Kaosha Clinic said that introducing health education in schools in Zambia will yield good results.
“It is very important that while we teach this type of education in schools, we remember also that students will quickly reach adolescence. That is why it is important that serious health issues to do with alcohol and sex are implemented early, specifically best to begin teaching them two years before the children reach that particular age,” he said.
He said that teachers also played a big role in the process of passing on health educational knowledge to the pupils.
“Children often listen more to teachers than parents mainly because of the interaction they have for almost the whole day. You find that parents perhaps might be too busy to educate their young ones, and that’s where the job comes in for the teachers and stuff in our schools, to act as supplementary parents for pupils in school,” he said.
Dr Dakar added that health education will improve the practical skills of the pupils after theory has been imparted within them, to deal with any situation.
“Health education will equip students with both theory and practical knowledge. We know that students engage in sports and other activities and do come across a lot of accidents such as cuts on the knees or on the head, and when they know how to go about it,” adding, “for example bandaging the wound, then we know that the practical education has worked”.
He said some schools have swimming pools for sports, but that does not mean everyone can swim.
“In the end we have some students drowning in most cases. How do the students react to that? Do they perform CPR or start shouting that a fellow student has drowned? So we see that health safety practically would come in handy and that is where health education comes in,” he said.
Dr Dakar further said that health education will motivate many schools to have health aid equipment at their disposal, not only for teachers but also for students’ use as well.
Deputy Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said that implementing health education in both primary and secondary schools will act as an instrument for public health.
“It is a key measure in firstly, promoting the importance of health.
This means that bringing out critical health issues to the attention of pupils will leave a lasting impression on them,” he said.
Dr Chilufya said that public health personnel should work hard in ensuring that health education is prioritised in schools in order to present key health issues in society, as it is also part of investment.
“Schools in Zambia have not implemented the health education subject, but once it is prioritised in schools, it will become an investment of the health sector. You will find that school going pupils will not only know how to handle little accidents, but will be more competent to handle even bigger ones,” he said.
He said that teachers have a big role to play in ensuring that the programme succeeds because they act as guardians when pupils are in school.
“Teachers should make sure that they sustain the Health Promotion Programme Trust, ensuring that they work hard in imparting health awareness in schools so as to supplement other health education subject,” he said.
Deputy Principal at Horizon School in Kabulonga Harry Masuwa said that implementing the subject of health education is a good idea as the education set up will move in tandem with other countries that have successfully done so.
“It is a good idea specifically to introduce health education as a subject especially for the upper primary to Grade 12. A well informed nation on health issues is a healthy nation. Information is power in any given nation across the world and a well informed nation will always know how to prevent some challenges faced,” he said.
James Mwelwa, 38, a father of Kabulonga Township said health education must also be extended to parents in building on what children have learnt in school using various ways.
“Health education programmes are most effective if parents are involved.
Parents can complement and reinforce what children are learning in school during conversations and activities at home,” he said.
It goes without saying that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation because its citizens are aware of how well to keep and maintain health.