Annual report on the health of the population of West Bengal.

  • West Bengal (India). Directorate of Health Services.
Date:
[1950]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the health of the population of West Bengal. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    48/380 (page 38)
    Chapter X MEDICAL INSPECTION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AND SCHOOL HYGIENE WORKS. There is yet much scope for improvement of the school hygiene work in the State as a whole and particularly in Calcutta. In Calcutta, with a large student population, increased considerably due to influx of East Bengal refugee students, very little work could be expected from part-time services of two School Medical Officers working in Calcutta under the Directorate of Health Services. In municipalities, where the aggregate strength of students comes next to Calcutta, school hygiene work still remains neglected. It is rather discouraging that 9 out of 19 municipalities held no school medical examination at all during the year under report and 3 did not send any report. Their attention is specially invited to this aspect with a hope that they should take active interest in this important nation building work. Only 3 municipalities, Bally, Budge-Budge ,and Darjeeling have adopted the school hygiene scheme where school medical examination was carried by a special staff as provided according to the school hygiene scheme. The work comprises the following :— (I) Work in Calcutta.— (a) Medical examination of the school children of Government and Government aided secondary schools for boys in Calcutta by the two School Medical Officers, under the Directorate of Health Services, West Bengal. (b) Free distribution of spectacles to the deserving boys having defective eye-sight. (c) Follow-up of the defective boys by the school nurse. (d) Preventive work—Vaccinating the boys against smallpox and inocu¬ lating them against cholera. (e) Lecture on hygiene mainly of personal hygiene to the boys. (/) Free distribution of UNICEF milk to the mal-nourished children of the schools. (II) Work in municipalities.—Medical examination of the school children in municipalities other than Calcutta by the Municipal Health Officers and School Medical Officers. (III) Work in district boards.— (a) Medical examination of the school children by the District Health Officers. (b) Prophylactic vaccination and inoculation against smallpox cholera, etc., and other works done by the Sanitary Inspectors of Rural Public Health Circles (non-medical). I (a) School Hygiene Work in Calcutta (1950).—Result of School Medical Inspection in Calcutta, carried out by the two School Medical Officers under the Health Directorate of West Bengal, is given below :— Total number of boys examined . . . . . . 6,296 Total number of boys with gross defects who were notified . . 1,578 or 25 per cent- with advice for treatment. Number of boys kept under observation 630 or 10 per cent.