VIJAYAWADA: The State government is planning to track growth and health condition of children studying in government schools across Andra Pradesh. According to officials, students right from Anganwadi centres to junior and polytechnic colleges will also be brought under the initiative.
The main intention behind the move is to track growth, health disorders and provide the required nutritional support to the children. As part of the health tracking system, details of children such as birth defects, diseases, deficiencies and development disorders will be recorded and two charts will be prepared. One chart will be a hard copy, while the second will be a digital one that will be synced with the Aadhaar database. The hard copy is more like a report card that can be accessed by family, school management and other stakeholders, while the digital one is for official purpose and future use.
The parents and school managements will receive alerts on which day the child should visit primary health centres or specialist hospitals for checkups and treatments, if required.At present, around 66,000 students are studying in government hospitals across the State. Screening of children in Anganwadis has already been conducted under the National Nutrition Mission of the Union government. However, the record is incomplete. Screening is yet to be conducted for those studying in government schools.
According to officials, the test for government school students is likely to be held from the next academic year.The officials are planning to implement the scheme with the support of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Women Development and Child Welfare Department and Health Department.
However, the government is yet to take a final call on implementing the scheme in private schools and carrying forward the report from Anganwadis to schools.A senior official from the School Education department told TNIE that the initiative was under discussion stage.
“From the next academic year, we are likely to collect students’ health parameters such as height, weight, health concerns, mental ability and other details.Their eyesight and hearing will also be monitored. With this, we can rectify the odds and balance the imbalances. In other countries, it is a must from the time they get admitted to a school or college. We are trying to implement the scheme as soon as possible.”
Data to be synced with Aadhaar database