Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Schools, in collaboration with Saamarthya Teachers Training Academy of Research (STTAR), Ghaziabad, launched its Health Education Curriculum for schools virtually on Friday, September 20, 2021.
The Health Education Curriculum is a comprehensive programme that aims at inculcating and nurturing health consciousness in students from grade I to grade XII. It was launched virtually by Secretary of CBSE, Anurag Tripathi, who was the Chief Guest for the event.
Launching the curriculum, Anurag Tripathi said, “To bring out this health curriculum for the students, teachers and parents is a very thoughtful initiative in this pandemic time. The aim of the National Education Policy 2020 is to create good human beings. This can be achieved by changing the paradigm of classroom pedagogy to introduce new components for the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development and health of students. I’ve gone through this Health Education Curriculum. It touches all the aspects of a child’s development. I wish to see this curriculum implemented in schools across India and reach lakhs of students and teachers. If this curriculum is provided to us, we will try our best to take it to each and every teacher and student in this country.”
The launch of Health Education Curriculum was graced by the presence of the Guest of Honour, Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala, a noted bariatric surgeon and founder of Digestive Health Institute by Dr. Muffi. Speaking about the importance of creating and promoting health awareness, he said, “Health is the mental and social well-being of an individual. The right time to introduce Health Education Curriculum is now. And the right place to introduce it is in our schools. This is a move in the right direction.”
Speaking earlier, the ceremony’s Special Guest, Dilip Thakore, Founder Editor of Education World, touched upon the issue of lack of enough funding for health and education and complimented the idea of introducing the Health Education Curriculum in schools. “This curriculum fulfils a very important lacuna in the education system. Without health you can’t have satisfactory education. They are two sides of the same coin,” he said.
The launch ceremony began at 4 pm with a welcome address by Harish Sanduja, Director-Schools of Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, followed by a moving invocation of Goddess Saraswati by the students of Seth Anandram Jaipuria School.
Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman of Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, laid out the vision behind the creation and launch of the Health Education Curriculum.
In his address, he said, “The Health Curriculum is a unique initiative of the group to create a healthy society and the need to start teaching school children various aspects of health, hygiene, fitness, nutrition, exercise, disease control, substance abuse, community health, environmental health as well as yoga and meditation. The lessons learnt by the school children will have a multiplier effect as it will positively influence their families as well.”
The context of the evening was set by Vinod Malhotra, Chairman of Academic Council, STTAR. He has been instrumental in the creation of the Health Education Curriculum from its ideation to completion. He spoke of the marvel that a human body is and he stressed upon the need to keep it healthy. “We are already running the Swacch Bharat abhiyaan in the country. Now is the time to begin the Swasthya (healthy) India abhiyaan. A healthy India will emerge as a Vishwaguru for the world.”
The one-hour event ended with a Vote of Thanks by Sushma Raturi, Member Secretary, Academic Council, STTAR. Raturi, along with a team of teachers and experts, have been central to the creation of the Health Education Curriculum.
The Health Education Curriculum is the latest transformative reform to be introduced by Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, in collaboration with Saamarthya Teachers Training Academy of Research (STTAR), Ghaziabad. The curriculum comprises of eight components that cover all the aspects of health and fitness of an individual. These components are: Nutrition and Fitness, Health Hygiene and Wellness, Disease Control and Prevention, Safety and First Aid, Community and Environmental Health, Mental and Emotional Health, Substance Abuse and Prevention, Adolescent Education.
Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group’s core schools have already started implementing the Health Education Curriculum. It is hoped that the curriculum will be implemented beyond the schools of the Jaipuria Group and usher a new change in the education system.
