Schools are the places that leave an everlasting impression on the life of an individual. Schools play a pivotal role in the life of young individuals giving them knowledge, socio-emotional skills including self control and resilience, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. Access to education and safe and supportive school environments have been linked to better health outcomes. In turn good health is linked to decline in dropout rate and increased educational attainment, educational performance, employability and productivity. World Health Organization (WHO) has long before emphasized the link between health and education and the potential for schools to play a central role in safeguarding student health and well-being. The age specific interventions at the school level inter-alia varied health indicators can meaningfully transform the lives of innumerable individuals.
Issues concerning safety and security of students in and outside the school premises
(1) Corporal Punishment: Although physical violence in any form is strictly prohibited in schools across India including Jammu and Kashmir, incidents of teachers resorting to physical violence are continuously pouring in from different corners thus threatening the very survival of school going children which thereby acts as a deterrent to pursue their education, leading to increased dropout rate. Corporal punishment leads to direct and indirect physical and mental harm, increased aggression, anti-social behaviour among these children.
(2) Over-weight school bag: There is no denying the fact that digital interventions have reduced the paper work to a great extent, but a student is compelled by school authorities to carry a heavy back load daily, in the name of a school bag. It has led to increased incidences of persistent lower back and spinal deformities at such a young age. The long term back pack weight can result in spinal angulations during late adolescence stage resulting in severe deformities .
(3) Lack of requisite infrastructure: Although infrastructural expansion has experienced an upward trend in recent past but the dilapidated infrastructure is still a common sight in both government and private institutions. Unsafe roofs, narrow entrances, corridors, staircases and lack of emergency exits often contribute to untoward incidents during anthropogenic and natural calamities.
(4) Food quality: The Mid-Day-Scheme for school going children is very crucial for improving school attendance and literacy rate. However, number of disturbing incidents of school going children being hospitalized for food poisoning does recur here and there. The incident in Bihar, where 23 children lost their lives, due to suspected pesticide contamination in Mid-Day-Meals is a grim reminder.
(5) Little room for games and extra-curricular activities: Especially in private school going children, children studying in such schools hardly get an opportunity to get involved in co-curricular activities. A continuous busy schedule of regular classes, tests, tuitions and a bunch of assignments often results in scarcity of time to play or relax in between , resulting in an exhausted child with extreme stress and strain
(6) Increased incidences of substance abuse: The consumption of hard drugs by school going children like heroin has increased manifold over the years especially in our part of the world. The data recently tabled by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment projected stark revelation on the nature of drugs being consumed in Jammu and Kashmir. As per the statistical data, Jammu and Kashmir has left behind the state of Punjab in the consumption of heroin. 90% of drugs consumed in Jammu and Kashmir are hard and synthetic opioid drugs like heroin. The students at times consume drugs for fantasy and fascination. They just do it as of means of experimentation. The experimentation leads them to be occasional user and finally they become compulsive users and get badly stuck in the vicious cycle of drug abuse and wherefrom returning back to normalcy is herculean and next to impossible mostly in case of hard substances.
(7) Screen addiction: No doubt technological tools have revolutionised the way knowledge is being disseminated and assimilated by the end user particularly by the student community. Children are increasingly becoming addictive to spending longer hours with electronic gadgets which seriously compromises with their well being. The children rather than playing meaningfully with their friends and siblings prefer a life of isolation and seclusion grossly engaged with electronic gadgets. This has seriously taken a toll on the physical and mental health of the child. Research has proven that children who remain glued to gadget screens for an extended period of time find it difficult to socialize and usually suffer from lack of creativity and critical thinking .
(8) Child sexual abuse: The horrifying incidents of child sexual abuse is a new norm. The children are subjected to varied forms of sexual abuse even at their residing places. The sexual assault cases are increasingly pouring in bulk from residential cum boarding schools as well as from day boarding schools. Findings from the Study on Child Abuse compiled by the Ministry of Women and Child Development projected that in the age group of 5-12 years, a staggering 52 % children reported some forms of sexual abuse; of these 55% were boys . These findings are worrisome and nullify the notion that boys are safer than girls.
(9) Health related issues: The age group of 10-19 years is regarded as a relatively healthy phase of life. However, during this period, children have unique health needs and concerns that have not received adequate attention in polices and programmes. As per the Lancet Commission Report on Adolescents suicides, malnutrition, depressive disorders, tuberculosis were the top four causes for ill health among young people in our country. Approximately 54% of girls and 29% of boys in the age group of 15-19 years are anaemic in India. This is even more worrisome in our UT of Jammu and Kashmir, where 76% girls and 68% boys are anaemic. As per the findings of National Family Health Survey, only 58% girls in the age group of 15-24 years employ hygienic methods during menstruation , rendering the other lot vulnerable and susceptible to reproductive tract infections(RTI).
Effective mitigation measures
1.To promote health and well being among school going children, a joint collaborative venture of Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) was launched by Honorable Prime Minister on 14th of April 2018 but the implementation of the program got delayed due to sudden break out of COVID-19 and the program in our UT of Jammu and Kashmir kick started in 2023. The intervention of school and wellness of school going children is based on the health and wellness initiatives, which harmonizes diverse programmes such as Adolescence Education Programme, life skills, value education, critical thinking, collaboration with the common objective of promoting holistic development , health and wellbeing.
2. Childhood and adolescence are critical phases of life that are developmentally primed to absorb and process new information and ideas that make it easier for them to modify their behaviour. Hence it is extremely rewarding to work with these age groups and huge public health gains can be realized by investing in them.
3. The belief to be uphold that children are a positive resource and are trusted, appreciated and respected.
4. Respond to diverse and dynamic needs of the learners at every stage of development through flexibility in terms of content, context and processes.
5. Establish an open, non-threatening and nurturing environment to facilitate joyful learning.
6. Empower the learner through participatory and non-judgmental approaches
7. Enable the learner to understand , adapt and negotiate existing and constantly changing realities.
8. Build on the learner’s experiences and provide them with opportunities to think critically , analyse and draw inferences.
9. Establishment of dedicated anti-sexual harassment cell at the institutional level.
10. Viable opportunities for students to hold structured dialogue on the issues directly concerning them.
11. Collaborative tie-up with all the relevant stake holders ; be it parents , community , media to let them realize and understand the complexities and reciprocate to needs and concerns of children in positive way.
Dr. Mushtaq Rather, Educator and Research Scholar, from Mattan Anantnag, Kashmir.