HEALTH
AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
It is
widely acknowledged that health is influenced by
biological,
social, economic, cultural and political forces.
Access to
basic needs like food, safe drinking water
supply,
housing, sanitation and health services influences
the health
status of a population, and these are reflected
through
mortality and nutritional indicator s. Health is a
critical
input for the overall development of the child,
and it
influences enrolment, retention and school
completion
rates significantly. This curriculum area
adopts a
holistic definition of health within which
physical
education and yoga contribute to the physical,
social,
emotional and mental development of a child.
Undernourishment
and communicable diseases are
the major
health problems faced by the majority of
children
in India, from the pre-primary to the higher
secondary
school stages. Therefore, the need to address
this
aspect at all levels of schooling, with special attention
to
vulnerable social groups and girl children. It is
proposed
that the midday meal programme and medical
check-ups
be made a part of the curriculum and
education
about health be provided that address the agespecific
The idea
of a comprehensive school health programme,
conceived
in the 1940s, included six major components,
viz.,
medical care, hygienic school environment, and
school
lunch, health and physical education. These
components
are important for the overall development
of the
child, and hence need to be included in the
curriculum.
The more recent addition to the curriculum
is yoga.
The entire group must be taken together as a
comprehensive
health and physical education curriculum,
replacing
the fragmentary approach current in schools
today. As
a core part of the curriculum, time allocated
for games
and for yoga must not be reduced or taken
away under
any circumstances.
There is
growing realisation that the health needs of
adolescents,
particularly their reproductive and sexual health
needs,
require to be addressed. Since these needs
predominantly
relate to sex and sexuality, which is culturally
a very
sensitive area, they are deprived of opportunities
to get the
appropriate information. As such, their
understanding
of reproductive and sexual health and their
behaviour
in this regard are guided predominantly by
myths and
misconceptions, making them vulnerable to
risky
situations, such as drug/substance abuse and HIV/
AIDS
transmission. Age- appropriate context-specific
interventions
focused on adolescent reproductive and
sexual
health concerns, including HIV/AIDS and drug/
substance
abuse, therefore, are needed to provide children
opportunities
to construct knowledge and acquire life skills,
so that
they cope with concerns related to the process of
growing up.
Strategies
Given the
multidimensional nature of health, there are
many
opportunities for cross-curricular learning and
integration.
Activities such as the National Service
Scheme,
Bharat Scouts and Guides, and the National
Cadet
Corps are some such areas. The sciences provide
opportunities
for learning about physiology, health and
disease,
and the interdependencies between various
living
organisms and the physical habitat. The social
sciences
could provide insights into community health
as well as
an understanding of the spread, control and
cure of
infectious diseases from a global
socio-economic
perspective. This subject lends itself
to applied
learning, and innovative approaches can be
adopted
for transacting the curriculum.
The
importance of this subject to overall
development
needs to be reinforced at the policy level,
with
participation by administrators, other subject
teachers
in schools, the Health Department, parents
and
children. Recognising this subject as a core subject
Health and
Physical Education must continue to be a
compulsory
subject from the primary, to the secondary
stages,
and as an optional subject at the higher secondary
stage.
However, it needs to be given equal status with
other
subjects, a status that is not being given at present.
In order
to transact the curriculum effectively, it is
essential
to ensure that the minimum essential physical
space and
equipment are available in every school, and
that
doctors and medical personnel visit school
regularly.
Teacher preparation for this area needs
well-planned
and concerted efforts. This subject area,
consisting
of health education, physical education and
yoga, must
be suitably integrated into the elementary
and
secondary pre-service teacher education courses.
The
potential of the existing physical education training
institutes
should be reviewed and utilised adequately.
Similarly,
their appropriate syllabi and teacher training
for
transaction of yoga in schools need to be reviewed
and
reformulated. It is also essential to ensure that these
concerns
are integrated into the activities of the National
Service
Scheme, the Scouts and Guides, and the
National
Cadet Corps.
The
'needs-based approach' could guide the
dimensions
of the physical, psychosocial and mental
aspects
that need to be included at different levels of
schooling.
A basic understanding of the concerns is
necessary,
but the more important dimension is that
of
experience and development of health, skills and
physical
well being through practical engagement with
play,
exercise, sports, and practices of personal and
community
hygiene. Collective and individual
responsibilities
for health and community living need
to be
emphasised. Several national health programmes
like
Reproductive and Child Health, HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis
and Mental Health have been targeting
childr en
as a focus group with prevention in view. These
demands on
children need to be integrated into existing
curricular
activities rather than adding these on.
Yoga may
be introduced from the primary level
onwards in
informal ways, but formal introduction
of yogic
exercises should begin only from Class VI
onwards.
All interventions, including even health and
hygiene
education, must rely on the practical and
experiential
dimensions of children's lives. There may
be more
emphasis on the inclusion of sports and games
from the
local area.
It should
be possible to organise the utilisation
of school
space, at the block level at least, for special
sports
programmes both before school hours and after
school
hours to enable children with special talents for
sports to
come here for special training and during
vacation
periods. It should also be possible to develop
these
sports facilities so that many more children can
avail of
these for leisure-time sports activities and engage
with team
games such as basketball, throwball,
volleyball, and local forms
of sports.
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