A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN OGUN STATE

Abstract

School Health Programme comprises of all the projects/ activities in the school environment for the promotion of the health and the development of the school community. The programme is one of the strategies for the achievement of the Health For All (HFA) declaration, education and health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and goals of the National Policy on Education.
This study was therefore designed to assess and compare the School Health Programme in Public and Private Primary Schools in Ogun State, South West Nigeria.
It was a comparative cross sectional study carried out over a four month period in Public and Private Primary Schools in three Local Government Areas located in the three Senatorial districts of Ogun State. A total number of 360 Head Teachers and their Schools were recruited into the study.
Data was collected by the use of an adapted, pre-tested, semi structured, self administered questionnaire which assessed the Head Teachers’ knowledge of School Health Programme and an adapted observational checklist, which was used to evaluate the Practice of School Health Programme in the Schools.
Data was analysed using the Statistical package for social sciences software version 15; McNemar’s chi-square and the t- test were used to test significant changes in the two groups.
The mean knowledge score for the Public School Head Teachers was 11.78±2.83 while that of the Private School Head Teachers was 10.68±3.48 out of a possible total score of 25 (t=2.620, p=0.01). Thirty seven percent of the Private Schools had a sick bay as against as against 14.4% of the Public Schools (X2=24.371, P=0.001). Training and certification of food handlers was done in 78.5% of the Public Schools and in 33.3% of the Private Schools (X2=78.511, P=0.001). On Health Education, 22.2% and 21.7% of the Public and Private Schools respectively had three periods of Health Instruction in a week (X2=5.115, P=0.164). Nineteen percent of Private Schools had pipe borne water as against 9.4% of the Public Schools. A toilet pupil ratio of 1:<30 was found in 24% of the Private Schools as against 4.5% 0f the Public Schools (X2=42.75, P=0.001). Other sporting facilities outside a football field was present in 35.6% of the Private Schools compared with the 9.4% of the Public Schools (X2=35.189, P=0.001). A functional Parents-Teachers Association was reported in 94.2% and 97.2% of the Public and Private Primary Schools respectively. In the multiple logistic regression model, only one variable; ‘Type of School’ was found to be a predictor of School Health Programme (OR= 4.551, CI= 1.918 – 10.799).
The fact that only 24 (6.7%) of the Head Teachers studied had ever seen a copy of the National Policy on School Health Programme and none of them could produce a copy of it on demand was a major factor affecting the implementation of the Programme in the State. The Head Teachers also reported lack of funds and inadequate health personnel as major constraints affecting implementation.
The Practice of School Health Programme in Ogun State though poor was better in the Private Schools than the Public Schools. However knowledge of the School Health programme was very poor in both groups but slightly better among the Public School Teachers.
It is thus recommended that copies of the National Policy on School Health Programme should be made available to Private Schools either as a prerequisite for registration or at the point of renewing their licenses in Ogun State. It should also be made available to all Public Schools Head Teachers in the State through the Nigerian Union of Teachers (Ogun State chapter) and knowledge of the Policy should be a requirement for appointment as a Head Teacher in the Public Schools. An urgent health education intervention campaign on School Health Programme should be organized by the Government of Ogun State through its Ministries of Health and Education with the participation of the Medical Officers of Health (MOH) and the Zonal Education Officers (ZEO) in each of the 20 Local Government Areas to address the identified knowledge gaps.

 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN OGUN STATE