SRINAGAR: The four-day Capacity Building programme for Master Trainers of School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP), under the Ayushman Bharat scheme of the Government of India, concluded here at the Jammu & Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) campus Srinagar.
Organised under the aegis of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, this workshop focused on the successful implementation of the School Health and Wellness Programme in Jammu and Kashmir by imparting orientation and training to the UT-level Master Trainers who shall further train two teachers in each school designated as Health and Wellness Ambassadors to reach every student. About 50 Master Trainers drawn from the School Education Department, SCERT, DIETs and the Health Department of JKUT representing all the 10 districts of Kashmir Division were trained during this programme.
Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director, NCERT was the chief guest on the occasion while Pratyanshu Kumar Mandal, Secretary NCERT, was the guest of honour.
In his address, Professor Saklani underscored the importance of cultural and ethical rootedness in the upbringing of children, especially the benefits of exercising mindfulness and Ayurveda. “Connect to the home environment of children to get a fuller view of their mindset and of the challenges that trouble their smooth growth as adults. NEP 2020 emphasizes cross-linkages and coming together of Health and Education departments shall go a long way in ensuring the robust physical and mental health of the learners,” he added.
Professor Mandal emphasized the crucial importance of mental health, interventions and techniques required to assess the mental well-being of students in the present times.
Professor Parikshat Singh Manhas, Chairperson, JKBOSE, hoped that it would be a watershed moment in implementing SHWP in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
Manisha Sarin, Secretary, JKBOSE, in her message, lauded the efforts of the Academic Division, JKBOSE for organising this event in which all the senior functionaries of NCERT interacted with the participants.
Eminent resource persons for this workshop included Dr. Indu Grewal, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Professor Dinesh Kumar, Head Planning and Monitoring Division, & Dean Research, Professor Gauri Srivastava, Project Coordinator, National Population Education Programme, NCERT, Professor Varda M. Nikalje, Dr. Bijaya Kumar Malik, Dr Jitendra Nagpal, Dr Satya Bhushan, Dr Harish Kumar Meena.
Others who were prominently present on this occasion included Professor Aijaz Ahmed Hakak, Joint Secretary Secrecy and Administration KD, Dr. Harish Kumar Meena, Programme Coordinator, NPEP, NCERT and Assistant Directors Academics.
Earlier, the workshop was inaugurated by Professor Sudhir Singh, Director of Academics, JKBOSE, who underscored the crucial role of teachers in a student’s life. “The attitude of a teacher can make or mar students’ experiences in their school life. It takes a special effort to understand a student’s psychology,” he added.
In her keynote address, Professor Gauri Srivastava, Project Coordinator, National Population Education Programme, NCERT, provided the participants with a bird’s-eye view of the health scenario in the country and enlightened them about various strategies adopted under SHWP to leave no school-going child behind in terms of health and wellness.
Hem Raj Pakhroo, Joint Director, JKSCERT and Dr. Yasir Hamid Sirwal, Deputy Director, Academics, JKBOSE, highlighted the achievements made by the UT of Jammu and Kashmir in the School Health and Wellness campaign.
The components of the workshop included brainstorming participatory sessions, discussion, and activities, on key areas of school health and wellness like implementation and monitoring of SHWP in light of NEP 2020, gender equality, nutrition, health and sanitation, value and responsible citizenship, promotion of healthy lifestyle, safe use of internet and social media, reproductive health and HIV prevention, etc.
The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates among the participants.
As schools play a critical role in helping students establish lifelong healthy behaviours, school-based health promotion activities have been incorporated as a part of the Health and Wellness component of the Ayushman Bharat Programme.
