New Delhi, May 5: Recently, a group of people came together to carry out a study of government schools in Delhi, and it was found that these schools were more likely to encourage healthy practices among their students than private schools. The group studied some 19 co-educational schools located in Delhi that had primary and senior-secondary level classes to assess what habits they inculcate among children and what is the level of health awareness they impart.
The Delhi government has been in the news for a couple of years for bettering the infrastructure in government schools and improving the quality of education. The priority has been given to creating adequate infrastructure in the government schools, which are today performing better than private schools. The research team assessed the schools on a number of parameters, which included health policies, canteen and lunch box policies, infrastructure for sports and physical activity, measures for tobacco and alcohol control, among other aspects. The study found that almost all schools had some policies and practices in place to address a healthy lifestyle.
Mid-day meals discourage use of junk food
The interesting part was that almost 89% government schools were found to be following the Comprehensive School Health Programme suggested by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), whereas the figure is just 80% for the private schools. The government schools, it was found, tend to encourage mid-day meals for students, thereby doing away with the need for junk food for school children. The government schools studied by the team were found to be providing a free and balanced lunch to students of primary and upper primary classes under the mid-day meal scheme.
It was also found that there were advertisements of food and beverage companies in the school campuses of private schools, which have a tendency to tempt the children to buy unhealthy food. However, in 55% government schools, it was observed that they had put up signs and charts related to nutrition policy, while only 10% private schools had such graphics.
Private schools have better infrastructure
However, the government schools fared poorly when it came to infrastructure. The study found that all the schools had a playground, but only 33% of them were suitable for sports in case of government schools, while the figure was 60% in case of private schools. The private schools also had adequate and good quality sports equipment, only 71% government schools had such facilities. The schools had physical education periods for each class, however, it was observed they had only two physical education periods per week of 40–50 minutes.
The government schools provided information about the disadvantages of tobacco and alcohol in the school curriculum. And in the case of private schools, only 40% (at primary school level) and 60% (at secondary school level) private schools provided such information to the students.
The study was carried out by a team, which consisted of members from varied backgrounds, which included Shalini Bassi, Vinay K. Gupta, Gaurang P Nazar, Tina Rawal, Soumyadeep Bhaumik and Monika Arora (PHFI); Min Hae Park (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine); and Kanwal Preet Kochhar (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi).
