National Union for Public and Private Educators of Zambia (NUPPEZ) Executive President, Victor Muyumba, has commended Health Learners, a Non-Governmental Organiasation, for embarking on the construction of health rooms in government and community schools across the country.
Mr. Muyumba says there is a need for other stakeholders to come on board to ensure that every school has health rooms in place.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr. Muyumba advised the Health Learners organization not to engage teachers as caregivers to avoid complications.
“We are commending Health Learners for putting up a good idea of constructing health rooms, but our appeal is that they attach health practitioners in schools where health rooms will be constructed,” he said.
Mr. Muyumba observed that it is not satisfying to train teachers as caregivers as their profession is strictly to teach.
He further noted that teachers should only end at giving first aid to learners and not administering medication.
” Whether they are trained for 10 days or six months, that does not make them health practitioners, they can do simple things such as first Aid, for example giving water, opening the windows etc,” Mr. Muyumba advised.
He noted that it will be difficult for teachers to exculpate themselves in situations where a learner dies from an Illness.
Mr. Muyumbaemphasised that teachers were not qualified to practice as health learners regardless of the situation.
Health Learners has embarked on constructing health rooms in schools and training teachers to enable them to deliver basic health services to learners within the school premises.
ZANIS
