CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Background to the Study
With incessant outbreak of deadly diseases such as Ebola, Lassa fever, Zika virus, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Meningitis, Cholera, Typhoid, Malaria, and rest of others, which claimed thousands lives of people in Africa and Nigeria in particular, among which are school going age, one of the nation’s responsibilities is to protect the lives and health of its citizens from any life threatening diseases and other health related issues. Revitalising School Health Programme (SHP) will thus play vital role in protecting, preserving and promoting health of individuals in schools and nation at large since there is relationship between students, staff, and community health.
It is a well known saying that “health is wealth”, and one of the most important aspects of all human development is health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) (2003) health is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absent of disease or infirmity. Thus, the health of students and staff in the schools is a matter of great concern if we are to ensure effective school administration for realisation of educational goals and objectives. Students’ health is one of the factors that determine the learning outcomes of students, this is because a well nourished and healthy student is expected to perform better than the mal-nourished and sick student. Kolbe (2002) opined that children, who are unhealthy or injured, hungry or depressed, abusing drugs or pregnant, are less likely to learn than those who are not. Sarkin-kebbi (2016) stressed that if student is sick he/she might not be able to give maximum attention to his/her lesson or might not be able to come to school thereby breaking learning process.
Furthermore, Abdou in Sita (2009) opined that if health and nutrition are determinants of qualitative and basic education, they are also the product of education. To get a full access to educational activities and its benefits, children must be in good health and well-fed. A safe school environment helps in protecting children against health problems, bad treatments and exclusion. In addition, according to the WHO (2014), an effective school health programme can be one of the most effective investments a nation can make to simultaneously improve education and health. School health programmes is a strategic means to prevent important health risks among youth and to engage the education sector in effort to change the educational, social, economic and political conditions.
In 2001, the Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with WHO took the initial step by conducting a Rapid Assessment of School Health System in Nigeria to ascertain the status of school health. The and sanitation facilities in schools, and the need for urgent action in school health (Federal Ministry of Education, (FME) 2006a). A statistical study on the state of school health system in Nigeria by Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with WHO in 2003 have shown that only 14% head teachers indicated that pre-medical examination was mandatory in their school, only 17% of schools have school nurses, about 30% of students have low Body Mass Index (BMI), about 20% of students do not have normal visual acuity, and about 19% of students do not have normal hearing. The study also identified that five common health problems of students that contribute to absenteeism are fever/typhoid with 55%, headache 43%, stomach ache 29% cough/catarrh 38% and malaria with 40%. As result of the above shows, it becomes imperative for school administrators to ensure that SHP is well implemented into their schools in collaborative effort with ministries of education, health, environment, etc, as well as the stakeholders and communities (FME, 2006a).
The declarations of Dakar 2000 which stipulates Education for All (EFA) and Health for All (HFA) also paved the way for the formulation of Nigerian National School Health Policy in the year 2006. The mission of the National School Health Policy was to put in place adequate facilities, resources and programmes, which will guarantee physical and mental health, social well being, and safety and security of the school community which promote the learning outcomes of the
child (FME, 2006a). Despite the provision of National School Health policy with the vision of promoting health of learners to achieve Education For All (EFA) and Health For All (HFA) in Nigeria, School Health Programme is been neglected in Nigerian schools, right from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and the programme is still suffering from dwindling problems ranging from inadequate facilities, inadequate funding, lack of awareness, mismanagement, etc, and this policy becomes a mere rhetoric with poor implementation. Therefore, to assure the Nigeria’s philosophy of education, every Nigerian child shall have a right to equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities, each according to his/her ability in order to maximise their learning ability
towards the actualisation of educational goals and objectives. This can be only realised if adequate and appropriate facilities are provided among which are school health facilities.
1.2 Problem Statement
Despite the importance of student health and school hygiene as an aspect of the infrastructure of community health, few feasibility studies have been conducted on school health programs in developing countries such as Nigeria. This study examined possible barriers to and challenges of such programs among secondary school teachers in Orumba North Local Government.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The major objective to the study is to evaluate the barriers to effective school health program among secondary school teachers in Orumba North Local Government.
1.4 Research Questions
(1) what is health programs?
(2) what are its advantages?
(3) what are the factors affecting its effectiveness in Secondary school?
1.5 Significance of the study
The study will give a clear insight into the barriers to effective school health programme among secondary school teachers.There is however, insufficient evidence about the achievements of the plan and to the best of our knowledge this study will be the first systematic attempt to investigate pros and cons of the executed program to identify potential barriers and challenges school health programme have encountered in Orumba North local Government.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The research focuses on the barriers to effective school health programme among secondary school teachers in Orumba North Local Government.