It is widely acknowledged that health is influenced bybiological, social, economic, cultural and political forces.Access to basic needs like food, safe drinking watersupply, housing, sanitation and health services influencesthe health status of a population, and these are reflectedthrough mortality and nutritional indicator s. Health is acritical input for the overall development of the child,and it influences enrolment, retention and schoolcompletion rates significantly. This curriculum areaadopts a holistic definition of health within whichphysical education and yoga contribute to the physical,social, emotional and mental development of a child.Undernourishment and communicable diseases arethe major health problems faced by the majority ofchildren in India, from the pre-primary to the highersecondary school stages. Therefore, the need to addressthis aspect at all levels of schooling, with special attentionto vulnerable social groups and girl children. It isproposed that the midday meal programme and medicalcheck-ups be made a part of the curriculum andeducation about health be provided that address the agespecificconcerns at different stages of development.The idea of a comprehensive school health programme,conceived in the 1940s, included six major components,viz., medical care, hygienic school environment, andschool lunch, health and physical education. Thesecomponents are important for the overall developmentof the child, and hence need to be included in thecurriculum. The more recent addition to the curriculumis yoga. The entire group must be taken together as acomprehensive health and physical education curriculum,replacing the fragmentary approach current in schoolstoday. As a core part of the curriculum, time allocatedfor games and for yoga must not be reduced or takenaway under any circumstances.There is growing realisation that the health needs ofadolescents, particularly their reproductive and sexual healthneeds, require to be addressed. Since these needspredominantly relate to sex and sexuality, which is culturallya very sensitive area, they are deprived of opportunitiesto get the appropriate information. As such, theirunderstanding of reproductive and sexual health and theirbehaviour in this regard are guided predominantly bymyths and misconceptions, making them vulnerable torisky situations, such as drug/substance abuse and HIV/AIDS transmission. Age- appropriate context-specificinterventions focused on adolescent reproductive andsexual health concerns, including HIV/AIDS and drug/substance abuse, therefore, are needed to provide childrenopportunities to construct knowledge and acquire life skills,so that they cope with concerns related to the process ofgrowing up. StrategiesGiven the multidimensional nature of health, there aremany opportunities for cross-curricular learning andintegration. Activities such as the National ServiceScheme, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and the NationalCadet Corps are some such areas. The sciences provideopportunities for learning about physiology, health anddisease, and the interdependencies between variousliving organisms and the physical habitat. The socialsciences could provide insights into community healthas well as an understanding of the spread, control andcure of infectious diseases from a globalsocio-economic perspective. This subject lends itselfto applied learning, and innovative approaches can beadopted for transacting the curriculum.The importance of this subject to overalldevelopment needs to be reinforced at the policy level,with participation by administrators, other subjectteachers in schools, the Health Department, parentsand children. Recognising this subject as a core subjectHealth and Physical Education must continue to be acompulsory subject from the primary, to the secondarystages, and as an optional subject at the higher secondarystage. However, it needs to be given equal status withother subjects, a status that is not being given at present.In order to transact the curriculum effectively, it isessential to ensure that the minimum essential physicalspace and equipment are available in every school, andthat doctors and medical personnel visit schoolregularly. Teacher preparation for this area needswell-planned and concerted efforts. This subject area,consisting of health education, physical education andyoga, must be suitably integrated into the elementaryand secondary pre-service teacher education courses.The potential of the existing physical education traininginstitutes should be reviewed and utilised adequately.Similarly, their appropriate syllabi and teacher trainingfor transaction of yoga in schools need to be reviewedand reformulated. It is also essential to ensure that theseconcerns are integrated into the activities of the NationalService Scheme, the Scouts and Guides, and theNational Cadet Corps.The 'needs-based approach' could guide thedimensions of the physical, psychosocial and mentalaspects that need to be included at different levels ofschooling. A basic understanding of the concerns isnecessary, but the more important dimension is thatof experience and development of health, skills andphysical well being through practical engagement withplay, exercise, sports, and practices of personal andcommunity hygiene. Collective and individualresponsibilities for health and community living needto be emphasised. Several national health programmeslike Reproductive and Child Health, HIV/AIDS,Tuberculosis and Mental Health have been targetingchildr en as a focus group with prevention in view. Thesedemands on children need to be integrated into existingcurricular activities rather than adding these on.Yoga may be introduced from the primary levelonwards in informal ways, but formal introductionof yogic exercises should begin only from Class VIonwards. All interventions, including even health andhygiene education, must rely on the practical andexperiential dimensions of children's lives. There maybe more emphasis on the inclusion of sports and gamesfrom the local area.It should be possible to organise the utilisationof school space, at the block level at least, for specialsports programmes both before school hours and afterschool hours to enable children with special talents forsports to come here for special training and duringvacation periods. It should also be possible to developthese sports facilities so that many more children canavail of these for leisure-time sports activities and engagewith team games such as basketball, throwball,

It is widely acknowledged that health is influenced by

biological, social, economic, cultural and political forces.

Access to basic needs like food, safe drinking water

supply, housing, sanitation and health services influences

the health status of a population, and these are reflected

through mortality and nutritional indicator s. Health is a

critical input for the overall development of the child,

and it influences enrolment, retention and school

completion rates significantly. This curriculum area

adopts a holistic definition of health within which

physical education and yoga contribute to the physical,

social, emotional and mental development of a child.

Undernourishment and communicable diseases are

the major health problems faced by the majority of

children in India, from the pre-primary to the higher

secondary school stages. Therefore, the need to address

this aspect at all levels of schooling, with special attention

to vulnerable social groups and girl children. It is

proposed that the midday meal programme and medical

check-ups be made a part of the curriculum and

education about health be provided that address the agespecific

concerns at different stages of development.

The idea of a comprehensive school health programme,

conceived in the 1940s, included six major components,

viz., medical care, hygienic school environment, and

school lunch, health and physical education. These

components are important for the overall development

of the child, and hence need to be included in the

curriculum. The more recent addition to the curriculum

is yoga. The entire group must be taken together as a

comprehensive health and physical education curriculum,

replacing the fragmentary approach current in schools

today. As a core part of the curriculum, time allocated

for games and for yoga must not be reduced or taken

away under any circumstances.

There is growing realisation that the health needs of

adolescents, particularly their reproductive and sexual health

needs, require to be addressed. Since these needs

predominantly relate to sex and sexuality, which is culturally

a very sensitive area, they are deprived of opportunities

to get the appropriate information. As such, their

understanding of reproductive and sexual health and their

behaviour in this regard are guided predominantly by

myths and misconceptions, making them vulnerable to

risky situations, such as drug/substance abuse and HIV/

AIDS transmission. Age- appropriate context-specific

interventions focused on adolescent reproductive and

sexual health concerns, including HIV/AIDS and drug/

substance abuse, therefore, are needed to provide children

opportunities to construct knowledge and acquire life skills,

so that they cope with concerns related to the process of

growing up.

 Strategies

Given the multidimensional nature of health, there are

many opportunities for cross-curricular learning and

integration. Activities such as the National Service

Scheme, Bharat Scouts and Guides, and the National

Cadet Corps are some such areas. The sciences provide

opportunities for learning about physiology, health and

disease, and the interdependencies between various

living organisms and the physical habitat. The social

sciences could provide insights into community health

as well as an understanding of the spread, control and

cure of infectious diseases from a global

socio-economic perspective. This subject lends itself

to applied learning, and innovative approaches can be

adopted for transacting the curriculum.

The importance of this subject to overall

development needs to be reinforced at the policy level,

with participation by administrators, other subject

teachers in schools, the Health Department, parents

and children. Recognising this subject as a core subject

Health and Physical Education must continue to be a

compulsory subject from the primary, to the secondary

stages, and as an optional subject at the higher secondary

stage. However, it needs to be given equal status with

other subjects, a status that is not being given at present.

In order to transact the curriculum effectively, it is

essential to ensure that the minimum essential physical

space and equipment are available in every school, and

that doctors and medical personnel visit school

regularly. Teacher preparation for this area needs

well-planned and concerted efforts. This subject area,

consisting of health education, physical education and

yoga, must be suitably integrated into the elementary

and secondary pre-service teacher education courses.

The potential of the existing physical education training

institutes should be reviewed and utilised adequately.

Similarly, their appropriate syllabi and teacher training

for transaction of yoga in schools need to be reviewed

and reformulated. It is also essential to ensure that these

concerns are integrated into the activities of the National

Service Scheme, the Scouts and Guides, and the

National Cadet Corps.

The 'needs-based approach' could guide the

dimensions of the physical, psychosocial and mental

aspects that need to be included at different levels of

schooling. A basic understanding of the concerns is

necessary, but the more important dimension is that

of experience and development of health, skills and

physical well being through practical engagement with

play, exercise, sports, and practices of personal and

community hygiene. Collective and individual

responsibilities for health and community living need

to be emphasised. Several national health programmes

like Reproductive and Child Health, HIV/AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Mental Health have been targeting

childr en as a focus group with prevention in view. These

demands on children need to be integrated into existing

curricular activities rather than adding these on.

Yoga may be introduced from the primary level

onwards in informal ways, but formal introduction

of yogic exercises should begin only from Class VI

onwards. All interventions, including even health and

hygiene education, must rely on the practical and

experiential dimensions of children's lives. There may

be more emphasis on the inclusion of sports and games

from the local area.

It should be possible to organise the utilisation

of school space, at the block level at least, for special

sports programmes both before school hours and after

school hours to enable children with special talents for

sports to come here for special training and during

vacation periods. It should also be possible to develop

these sports facilities so that many more children can

avail of these for leisure-time sports activities and engage

with team games such as basketball, throwball,