By Yunus S Saliu
Comprehensive Health Education (CHE) under the project – Strengthening Access to Quality Comprehensive Health Education in The Gambia has been described as a worthwhile course that Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) should include in the school curriculum.
In dissemination process of the CHE research findings, which continuing with the Gambia Senior Secondary School, Aji Sukai Ndateh Memorial, Charles Fowlis, Ndow’s Senior Secondary Schools, and Garba Jahumpa Upper Basic School on Monday and Tuesday respectively, teachers as well as their students begged for MoBSE indulgence to make CHE one of the school’s subjects.
Ebrahim Kabakhan, head of examination board for Gambia Senior Secondary School also history and government teacher said CHE is just like a family life education which teaches young ones how to strengthening their health system in term of reproductive health system.
Mr Kabakhan underscored its importance saying it enlightening students, communities and even the teachers’ knowledge about their health systems.
“This program (CHE), should not be limited to only senior secondary school, but should be extended to tertiary training schools, college and be included in the school curriculum,” Kabakhan suggested.
He added that it will help to create a lot of awareness, strengthen and make them (students) responsible and avoid issues like teenage pregnancy, stillbirth, and some other reproductive health issues affecting the school going students as a whole.
“I hereby recommend, as head of school examination board, that MoBSE should include it in its curriculum as a subject and as well make it an examinable subject in school because it educates human development and human development index,” he made recommendation.
He noted that most teachers in general feel shy to discuss about sexual reproductive issues with students simply because “they thought it is an insult to culture and parents too do not cherish the idea of teaching their children about reproductive health system or sexual challenges facing them (students), at home.”
Either you are a Muslim or Christian, he said, this is part of life of human beings and “it is God Almighty that created us and make it happening to us. So if there are things happening that you are experiencing in your body there is need to open up.”
Let people stop being shy and stop alleging it to culture which cannot help when it comes to health matter, he said.
Louis Mendy, Principal at Garba Jahumpa Upper Basic School shared similar views with other teachers.
In his personal assessment, he said the research findings dissemination exercise is worthwhile and described it a successful exercise, saying it is success is obvious “through the response of students, their contributions and ways and manners they asked questions and also their attentiveness.”
The Principal commended Mrs Phebian Ina Grant-Sagnia, principal investigator of the project for Strengthening Access to Quality Comprehensive Health Education for in-and-out of School Adolescents in Region I, The Gambia, who is also a Principal Health Researcher Ministry of Health for a good and understandable presentation.
He noted that the principal investigator’s presentation together with her team made exercise “very interactive beyond expectation between the students, teachers and the entire team.”
He affirmed that he is a parent just like other parents “but what I have learned from the team is a lesson for me that kids should not be left alone on their own and there is no subject that should be too difficult for parents to discuss with their children.”
Adding because it is essential that we teach them (our children), it is their lives that involve, as parents are concern, we can’t run away from our children as they need to know more about themselves.
“I would advise the team not to end their meeting on dissemination of research findings alone but to make it a continuous course,” he urged.