Efforts to implement school health work

Recognizing health as a valuable asset for students in their physical development, many educational institutions have made efforts to implement school health work to take good care of students.

School health includes a system of methods and interventions to protect and improve students' health; turning scientific knowledge into practical skills in all life activities... The main areas of health work in schools today are: health management and care; hygiene; health education ...

Canteen of M'Drắk Town Kindergarten (M'Drắk District)

At M'Drắk Town Kindergarten (M'Drắk District), the school always pays attention to students' health care. The school organizes regular health check-ups; changes the menu regularly; maintains connections between homeroom teachers and parents to discuss children's health status and other signs that need attention...

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Xinh, Principal of M'Drắk Town Kindergarten, the school's kitchen is organized according to a one-way process and strictly stores food samples according to regulations. To ensure food safety, the school signs contracts with reputable units specializing in providing clean, fresh food with clear origins. The menu is built based on the recommendations of the Ministry of Health , ensuring appropriate nutrition for each age group and a variety of dishes. Thanks to these efforts, most students in the school are healthy, with no cases of obesity or malnutrition.

At Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Cu M'gar district), school health work is effectively implemented through specific activities, creating a safe and healthy learning environment for students. Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Huong, a medical staff member at Le Hong Phong Secondary School, shared that the school pays special attention to educating students about personal hygiene and environmental awareness by guiding them to clean up the school yard and classrooms. Communication activities on disease prevention (dengue fever, monkeypox, etc.) and injury prevention are regularly integrated into school-wide collective activities and weekly class activities, helping students equip themselves with knowledge to protect themselves and their families. The school also actively coordinates with local health care to promote adolescent reproductive health and improve health care knowledge for female teachers and staff.

Student health is one of the key factors determining the quality of education. A healthy student will attend school more diligently, learn better, and contribute to reducing the rate of weak students and dropouts. On the contrary, poor health will hinder the comprehensive development of students, creating a burden for the family and society.

Although the education sector has basically improved the facilities for school health care, in reality there are still gaps such as: the situation of teachers and staff concurrently working as health workers is still common; sanitation facilities, especially toilets, are still lacking... In some cases, food sample storage cabinets are even requisitioned to store other items due to lack of equipment. In particular, the coordination between the health and education sectors is not really effective, not meeting the actual needs of schools, students and parents.

Health officials instruct teachers of Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Cu M'gar district) on school health education communication.

Faced with this situation, on January 6, 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued Plan No. 03/KH-UBND on implementing the school health program and the school health program in preschool and general education institutions associated with primary health care for the period up to 2026 in Dak Lak province. The plan focuses on linking school health with primary health care to improve the quality of primary health care, first aid, injury prevention and overall health improvement for students.

To achieve that goal, the education and health sectors need to diversify health education communication activities; build educational models on disease prevention, food safety, proper nutrition, physical activity, prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, etc. At the same time, provide guidance on organizing diverse, food-safe, nutritious, and age-appropriate school meals; ensure adequate supply of clean water that meets standards for students, staff, and teachers, etc.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/giao-duc/202506/no-luc-thuc-hien-cong-tac-y-te-hoc-duong-4bf14d5/