[SY4-2] School Health in Malaysia School health system, issues and problems: the Malaysian experience
Keywords:Malaysia、school health services、school nutrition program、mental health
Background of Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in South-East Asia with a population of 32.7 million of which 23% are under 15 years of age (Department of Statistics, 2021). The population in Malaysia shows great ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity.
Types of school in Malaysia
Malaysia education platforms, just like its diverse cultural and ethnic landscape are various and provide many options. The existing systems include government schools, also referred to as public schools, vernacular schools that cater primarily for the Chinese and Indian communities (wherein Mandarin and Tamil languages respectively are the mediums of instruction), private schools and international schools. The government, vernacular and private schools offer the Malaysian national school curriculum, while the international schools follow international curriculum from another country.
School health service
School health service is provided by the Ministry of Health Malaysia to school children to ensure optimum health care. As a joint program between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), School Health Program (SHP) was established in 1967. In September 1997, following the introduction of Health-Promoting School concept by WHO, MOH modified the concept to strengthen the existing SHP, and officially launched the "Program Bersepadu Sekolah Sihat" (PBSS). PBSS integrates and coordinates all the health activities in Malaysia schools. The school health services provided by school health teams were to make scheduled visitations to primary and secondary schools in Malaysia.
Nutritional Rehabilitation Program for Malnourished Children in School (SSFP and SMP)
The main macronutrient deficiency problem among Malaysian children is protein and energy malnutrition. This is manifested in children of being underweight for their age. To improve the health and nutritional status of these children, the School Supplementary Feeding Program (SSFP) has been started by MOE to provide free meal to primary school children from poor families. In conjunction with SSFP, the School Milk Program (SMP) was also initiated simultaneously to ensure these students receive a well-balanced diet in school.
Mental Health Problems among Malaysian students
A national survey by the Ministry of Health has revealed that mental disorders are common in Malaysian students and have been evidenced among the teens aged 13 to 17. Mental health problems may act as a precursor or a consequence of many social problems such as truancy, attempt of suicidal thought and etc. that might have potentially deleterious effects on the society.
Thus, school plays an important role to figure out the true cause of mental health problems among adolescents to highlight the underlying problems and plan for further interventions.
Malaysia is a country in South-East Asia with a population of 32.7 million of which 23% are under 15 years of age (Department of Statistics, 2021). The population in Malaysia shows great ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity.
Types of school in Malaysia
Malaysia education platforms, just like its diverse cultural and ethnic landscape are various and provide many options. The existing systems include government schools, also referred to as public schools, vernacular schools that cater primarily for the Chinese and Indian communities (wherein Mandarin and Tamil languages respectively are the mediums of instruction), private schools and international schools. The government, vernacular and private schools offer the Malaysian national school curriculum, while the international schools follow international curriculum from another country.
School health service
School health service is provided by the Ministry of Health Malaysia to school children to ensure optimum health care. As a joint program between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), School Health Program (SHP) was established in 1967. In September 1997, following the introduction of Health-Promoting School concept by WHO, MOH modified the concept to strengthen the existing SHP, and officially launched the "Program Bersepadu Sekolah Sihat" (PBSS). PBSS integrates and coordinates all the health activities in Malaysia schools. The school health services provided by school health teams were to make scheduled visitations to primary and secondary schools in Malaysia.
Nutritional Rehabilitation Program for Malnourished Children in School (SSFP and SMP)
The main macronutrient deficiency problem among Malaysian children is protein and energy malnutrition. This is manifested in children of being underweight for their age. To improve the health and nutritional status of these children, the School Supplementary Feeding Program (SSFP) has been started by MOE to provide free meal to primary school children from poor families. In conjunction with SSFP, the School Milk Program (SMP) was also initiated simultaneously to ensure these students receive a well-balanced diet in school.
Mental Health Problems among Malaysian students
A national survey by the Ministry of Health has revealed that mental disorders are common in Malaysian students and have been evidenced among the teens aged 13 to 17. Mental health problems may act as a precursor or a consequence of many social problems such as truancy, attempt of suicidal thought and etc. that might have potentially deleterious effects on the society.
Thus, school plays an important role to figure out the true cause of mental health problems among adolescents to highlight the underlying problems and plan for further interventions.