As activities continued yesterday in observance of Education Month, a health fair was held at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) ground, Thomas Lands, yesterday, with a focus on health as a crucial factor in the academic development of a child.At the opening of the event, which was attended by scores of school children,Cheap NFL Jerseys From China, teachers and other education officials, Education Minister Shaik Baksh related that the notion of school health and education has been deemed so important that it is placed as a priority area in the new education strategic plan 2008-2013.The Minister said that clear targets have been outlined to improve the health facilities in schools through infrastructural work.Students viewing some of the health booths at the fair This, according to Minister Baksh, includes the rehabilitation and construction of new sanitary blocks at schools, an ongoing programme countrywide.He further said that since his appointment as Minister of Education,Cheap NFL Jerseys Chinese, one of the areas that topped his agenda was the need to improve the sanitary facilities for the children of Guyana so that they can be comfortable while at school.And because there are in excess of 1,000 schools to undergo improvement works, the Minister revealed that the Ministry has sought to develop an asset management plan in order to facilitate the rehabilitation and maintenance of school facilities in a more systematic way.Minister Baksh added that with a Health and Family Life Education Programme which has been introduced in some schools,Cheap Jerseys For Wholesale, health issues will be effectively addressed even as plans are streamlined to expand the programme at schools countrywide.“This is what we have laid down in our education strategic plan because of the importance of health for the nation’s children and we are now reviewing the programme in terms of its methodology and also in terms of its content.? We have a consultancy in place now to look at the content of the programme,Wholesale NHL Jerseys China, to strengthen it and to see whether the teaching methods we have been employing are the correct ones and whether they have been effective enough to give us the desired results.”According to the Minister, it is hoped that by the end of this year the relevant changes will be made to make the programme one that is more meaningful and probably even one that could be taught as part of the timetable.However, he pointed out that a task force has been setup to determine the feasibility of such a programme being added to the curriculum, noting that the education sector should not only be embracing academic programmes.“At the end of the day,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, we need to have a well-rounded school population. This means that we must have studies on health and family life and moral education….Already we are working on a design for a course…”The Minister also pointed out that there must be room for physical education, adding that he is not satisfied with the current state of physical education in the school system.Meanwhile, he noted that the efforts by the Ministry to address the general health issues of students are being further boosted by a School Health Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Unit, headed by Ms Sharlene Johnson.“We will continue to promote health because we feel that in the final analysis our students will be able to perform better so that we can move ahead in terms of overall performance…,” the Minister articulated.And according to Ms Johnson, it was recognised that education and health must be integrated in order to effectively teach students.She pointed out that it has been observed that unhealthy children cannot excel academically, thus the need for a collaborative effort between the Health and Education Ministries to address the problem.Ms Johnson disclosed that, through the programme, it has been detected that there are several health problems affecting students including diarrhoeal infections, visual and hearing impairment as well as the problem of littering, which could prove harmful to their health.And so it was anticipated that through the health fair students,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, parents, teachers and the public at large could be sensitised on issues related to health and more specifically school health, Johnson asserted.Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who also graced the opening ceremony, took the opportunity to congratulate the Education Ministry for taking on the health approach in the sector.He disclosed that the Health Ministry stands ready at all times to assist wherever and whenever possible in this regard.“Our children canno