EDUCATION Month 2017 has arrived quietly amid numerous calls for reform to bring the system more in line with modern thinking by placing greater attention to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Given the nature of the system, these are not changes which would happen overnight, but will happen overtime and one can only hope sooner rather than later.
The good thing is that the government has recognised the need for change in this regard and has already begun efforts to ensure that the education system at the earliest level is attuned to the thinking of the 21st century to aid Guyana’s immediate and future developmental needs.

The current system is far from a perfect one and some of the challenges faced are beyond the scope of administrators and will require a collaborative approach to be addressed.
From the look of things, the Ministry of Education is heading in that direction and it is highly encouraging to see that the ministry this year has moved away from the rigid academic view of education to a more encompassing view as reflected in this year’s Education Month theme “Promoting Wellness in Communities Through Quality Education.”
Promoting wellness in communities, in in this case, as it relates to the child, is an important step in strengthening the foundation of building a strong and healthy nation.
This can only be done by educating communities about the importance of embracing healthy lifestyles and the role it can play in producing heathy and focused children willing and eager to learn.

The theme is timely, since only recently the Ministry of Public Health in a release had indicated that non-communicable diseases among youths appear to be on the increase.
In fact, just about two years ago, University of Guyana (UG) Health Sciences Lecturer Lois Stephanas had emphasised that inculcation of healthy eating habits and regular exercise in adolescents may be key factors in preventing chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, which are among the leading causes of death in Guyana.
She went at length to point out that eschewing the widespread availability of fast foods and maintaining healthy eating habits and adequate, daily exercise could stave off many of those negative conditions.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 66 per cent of all deaths occurring in all age groups in Guyana.
In a study titled ‘An Assessment of Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviour of Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools of Guyana,’ Stephanas found that participation in healthy dietary and physical activity behaviours among adolescents was far from optimal.
The study also found that 54 per cent of the participants engage in physical activity that made them sweat and breathe hard for at least 20 minutes; 48.7 per cent on average play video games for one or more hours; 56 per cent do not attend physical education classes, and only 12.6 per cent and 12.9 per cent of students ate two or more cups of fruits and vegetables respectively.

In addition, the researcher found that 85.9 per cent of youths consume soda at least once per week, and about a quarter reported consuming soda twice per day. Practically all soft drinks are high in sugar content and this level of consumption is against recommended dietary guidelines.
This study was done two years ago and it was no surprise that two years after the Ministry of Public Health has indicated that non-communicable diseases among children are on the increase.

Now no one knows what is being done to change the bad eating habits of our students, but it is highly commendable that the Ministry of Education is making some effort to address this problem by placing attention on wellness and getting communities involved.
Healthy learners are key for happy results. This matter can be better addressed through a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Health and Education.