MYSURU: The recently published Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+ 2019-20) report has pointed out that government schools have done better compared to private schools in extending medical checkups to students.
The report is based on the medical checkups conducted in the previous academic year.
According to the report, out of 49,834 government schools, medical checkups of students were carried out in 49,522 schools i.e. 99.37% schools. Contrary to this, out of 20,069 private unaided schools, medical checkups were conducted in only 15,006 (74.77%) schools.
According to the government school teachers, these medical checkups help students in numerous ways. “If the students are found ill or suffering from any problems, they are recommended to the taluk/ district hospital for treatment. These students are also offered free treatment by the government,” explained a teacher.
Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) chairman Antony Sebastian said private schools also should hold medical camps for students although it is not mandatory.
Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools general secretary D Shashikumar said a majority of private schools are carrying out the exercise. “Medical camps are not conducted in a few schools where the parents are against such an exercise citing several reasons,” he explained.
“Integrating the health records of students with the Student Tracking System (STS) is one of the best solutions. It will also include the vaccination status of the students,” he added.
