1.1 Introduction
The National School Health policy was put in place in 2006 with the mission of putting in place adequate facilities, resources and programmes that will guarantee physical, mental and social wellbeing and the safe and security of the school community that will promote learning outcome of the child (National School Health Policy Implementation Guideline, 2006). A policy means a course of action or direction to adhere in order to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English; Policy is a course or action adopted or proposed by an organization or person. By implication carry health information to the family and the larger society. The clue of the goals was to enhance the quality of health in the school community and one of the policy objectives was to put in place a legitimate framework for the mobilization of support for the implementation of the school health policy (National School Health Policy, 2006).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
School health services care came into existence in 1899 after the Boer war as a result of the defeats the British Soldiers suffered in the hands of the South Americans. Upon the investigation of the cause of the defeat, it was discovered that most of the soldiers used by the British were students that were not medically fit to join the army. This, therefore, prompted the British Government to introduce school health services to help check the status/standards of pupils (Sa’adatu, 2004).
The school provides a unique opportunity for health education, a means of establishing a firm foundation for the health habits of the future adult population. By safeguarding the health of the children of today one is ensuring the health of the adults of tomorrow (Lucas and Giles, 2003). It is universally recognized that the health of school children deserves special attention. In order to derive maximum benefit from the educational programme, the child must be healthy, physically, mentally, and emotionally (Lucas and Giles, 2003). They further assert that children at school are exposed to a variety of hazards ranging from physical injury, and infection, to emotional problems. School age is a period during which the child is undergoing rapid physical and mental developments. A healthy environment is required to provide the child with appropriate adjustments that are required during this critical period.
According to Sa’adatu (2004), maintained that school health services had been dynamic in the western part of the country but the reverse is the case in the northern part of the country. School health services were introduced in Delta state in 1980 and formally established in 1985 with proper transfer of health personnel from Ministry of Health to Ministry of Education. This slow take off of the programme was because most of the health care services were catered for by the management of schools which was directly run by missionaries. However, due to unexplainable reasons’ the programme had not been on a strong footing in the state, particularly due to lack of funds by the Ministry of Education, to absorb the transferred staff from the Ministry of Health. They further assert that public school districts in the United States provide varying levels of health services to their students, depending on several factors, such as state and federal laws, local boards of education perceptions about the importance of health services; parental and community involvement (Dorothy et al, 2002).
It has become necessary to evaluate the school health policy implementation for over ten years after the formulation of the policy to ascertain to what extent the policy implementation has been attained. This will provide the background to determine the success or failure of the policy implementation strategies and the goals and objectives of the policy so as to recommend the way forward in Delta State. This appraisal serves as monitoring and evaluation, advocacy, research and knowledge sharing, which this study attempt to attain. At times an independent monitoring and evaluation of programmes such as this research provides a forum for comparison between governments sponsored monitoring and evaluation and independent or non-governmental organization monitoring and evaluation.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Implications for National Policy on School Health Education towards the Health of a Nigeria Child.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the level of services depends on many factors, like the State and Federal laws, the commitment of the Ministry of Education, perception about the importance of health services and parental and community involvement (Obionu,2001). Basic school health services, usually provided by nurses and health education personnel included screening for medical conditions, administration of prescribed medications, care of students with special health needs, assessment for acute and contagious conditions, administration of the first aid, immunization, health education and promotion activities and maintenance of school health records. Some schools also partner with medical and local authorities, providing expanded services for students.
Perhaps, the negligence of the school health services by the responsible ministries (Health and Education) is attributable to the low level of academic performance and absenteeism in post primary schools in Delta state. Despite the effort of the government to improve the facilities of school health services, cases of infection remain high among students in post primary schools. It is therefore not clear how adequate the health services in Delta State are. In view of this state of affairs in the Ministry of Education of Delta state, it is not clear what kind of health services are provided in secondary schools of Delta state and to what extent they are maintained and utilized. This study was therefore an attempt to assess the health services provided in secondary schools in Delta state.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Implications for National Policy on School Health Education towards the Health of a Nigeria Child. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To find out the adequacy of school health education provided in the area under study.
- To investigate the factors affecting National policy on school health education.
- To evaluate the implementation of the National school policy on school health in the area under study.
- To determine the school skilled based health instruction implemented along the National health policy school health programme in secondary schools in Delta State
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Are there factors affecting National policy on school health education?
- To what extent are school heads aware of the content of the National School Health Policy implementation guideline document among secondary school principals in Delta state?
- To what extent is school skilled based health instruction implemented along the National health policy school health programme in secondary schools in Delta State?
- What is the adequacy of school health education provided in the area under study?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: School heads are not aware of the content of the National School Health Policy implementation guideline document towards the Health of Nigeria Children
- H1: School heads are aware of the content of the National School Health Policy implementation guideline document towards the Health of Nigeria Children
1.7 Significance of Study
The study was justified on the following bases:
School health services are provided in all post primary schools of Delta State, but it is not clear what kind of services are provided and to what extent they are provided in the secondary schools of Delta State. The result of the study will show the kind of health services provided in the secondary schools of Delta State. The results will further indicate whether these services were adequate or not.
This study will be of immense benefit to researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of the Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Implications for National Policy on School Health Education towards the Health of a Nigeria Child.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
