Nursing services in Koshi schools prove effective

By Mahendra Bista,Biratnagar, July 19: Rate of student absenteeism has decreased significantly at Pokhariya Secondary School in Biratnagar after the introduction of health treatment services alongside regular teaching-learning activities. 

Khimraj Bhattarai, the headmaster of Pokhariya Secondary School, said that the trend of students being absent due to menstruation or minor injuries, or leaving for home citing physical problems after the tiffin break, has decreased after the introduction of free nursing services at school. 

The ‘Nursing Services in Schools’ programme was launched in 2019 by the then Ministry of Social Development of Koshi Province Government in some community schools in the province. Since then, daily health treatment services have started at Pokhariya Secondary School in Biratnagar as well. According to headmaster Bhattarai, the service has been beneficial to students, teachers, and parents.

He said, “Since the introduction of nursing services in school, there has been an improvement in student attendances. Students have started to openly discuss their physical problems with the school family. There has also been a decrease in the practice of bringing junk food to school”.The school provides education from early childhood to Grade 12. Currently, 3,600 students, half of them girls, have enrolled in the school. 

Pratibha Bajgain, a school nurse working at the same school, also agreed that girls aged between 10 and 19 years have greatly benefited from the ‘Nursing Services in Schools’ programme. Through the programme, sanitary pads for menstruation, iron tablets, folic acid, deworming medicines, and other necessary medications are being provided free of cost to all girl students.

In case of injuries while playing on school premises, stomach pains or headache, or if a student, teacher, or local guardians face any kind of health issue, necessary treatment and referrals to relevant hospitals are being made from the school itself. The headmaster of Satya Narayan Secondary School in Biratnagar, Purushottam Guragai, also stated that students, teachers, and parents have benefited from the nursing services introduced at schools.

He said, “Parents now believe that if something happens to their children at school, they will receive treatment there itself. The fear among girls during their first menstruation has decreased. There has been improvement in health and food awareness among students.”

Mandira Ghatani, the school nurse, said that around 40 to 50 students visit her daily for treatment due to injuries, stomach pain, or fainting at the school, where 2,000 are studying. Depending on the students’ needs, the school provides services such as sanitary pads, band-aids, balm, oral medicines, and blood pressure checks.

In 2019, the Koshi Province Government implemented the School Nursing Programme with the aim of encouraging balanced and nutritious food intake among children from the school level itself, promoting hygiene and nutrition, motivating healthy lifestyles, and improving the reproductive health status of adolescents. This programme initially launched in 14 schools across the province in the first year is now implemented in 173 schools throughout the province.

The programme that provides daily health treatment services at schools has been proven to be very effective.  However, challenges to its sustainability have arisen as nurses appointed under this programme leave mid-way when they get other opportunities, and local governments fail to provide necessary facilitation, said Gyan Bahadur Basnet, Director of the Koshi Province Health Directorate. 

 Basnet said that if all three levels of government coordinate and arrange permanent nursing positions at schools, the programme could become sustainable.