National School Health Policy in Nigeria; Survey of teachers’ perception and implementation in public schools in Ebonyi State

Abstract

Background: The National School Health Policy (NSHP) was enacted and adopted in Nigeria in 2006 as a guide to the implementation of the School Health Programme (SHP) for the maintenance and improvement of the health of children in school.
Objectives: We decided to undertake a survey of the implementation of this policy in public schools in Ebonyi state, southeast Nigeria by assessing the Head teachers' perceptions, attitude, and practice and to determine possible challenges, if any, in the policy implementation.
Method: A descriptive crosssectional study was carried out on 788 public primary and secondary schools in Ebonyi state using pretested structured questionnaires administered to their head teachers. Information on school demographics, school health services; school environment, skill-based health instructions in schools and, perceived enablers or barriers to school health implementation were retrieved.
Results: About 65% of participants were unaware of the existence of the NSHP document. None of the schools reported pre-entry medical examination of students, 49.6% had no latrines, 42.1% had no source of water at school, and 45.1% had no teacher trained in Health education. Some of their perceived challenges were low awareness and commitment of school managers, the absence of health workers in school, and lack of teachers training on School Health Programme.
Conclusion: Poor knowledge and understanding of the NSHP amongst the teachers, lack of basic human and material resources for health-promotion in schools may have contributed to the seemingly low attitude and practice of the NSHP in public schools of Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Keywords: School, health policy, knowledge, implementation, challenges, teachers, school health Programme, Nigeria