Health education in schools mandatory – News
Mandatory health education sessions will be part of the school curricula starting from the next academic year, according to an updated School Health Manual issued by the Dubai Health Authority.
Upon failure to provide a minimum of five health education sessions during an academic year, schools could stand to lose their licences to operate.
Schools have to provide educational sessions on 13 health topics including smoking, puberty changes, depression, drug abuse and first aid among several others.
Talking to Khaleej Times on Sunday, a health official said that the updated manual would act as a health guide for schools. She said the manual was based on international guidelines and adapted to suit the population and culture in Dubai.
“We want students to be aware of health-related matters,” said Noora Saeed Al Shehhi, Head of School Health Unit, Health Regulation Department at DHA. She also said that school environments can reach a large proportion of youth and children in the UAE. “Children and youth of school age (5 to 19 years) contribute to around 18 per cent of the total population in UAE,” she said.
“Students spend around six hours in classrooms for almost 13 years of their life. Thus schools play an essential role in improving the health status of young people in the country,” added Noora.
The mandatory sessions are part of a number of new policies and guidelines that have been incorporated in the updated manual. School nurses or doctors will be responsible for delivering the health sessions. However, teachers too, can impart the education according to the material provided by the DHA.
For a school with up to 1,000 students, a school nurse will have to deliver at least five sessions during the course of the academic year. In case of a school with 1,000 to 2,000 students, the school doctor and nurse will provide at least 10 sessions while a school with more than 2,000 will have to complete 15 sessions.
Each year, the school administration will have to submit an annual report with details of the sessions to DHA, said Noora.
The school doctor and nurse will also be required to complete a number of Continuous Medical Education (CME) hours in order to have their licences renewed.
The guidelines will be reviewed according to new evidence in 2013.
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