Health cards for students of Sevashram schools  

RAYAGADA: The children studying in residential schools of the district will soon be issued health cards. This was announced by Collector Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar at the district-level planning and convergence meeting on safety, security, health, nutrition and wellbeing of students in residential schools on Tuesday. Presiding over the meeting, the Collector said health records of children in Sevashram schools of SC/ST and School and Mass Education departments will also be maintained on a daily basis. 

The need of the hour is to track the health details of students.  Besides the cards, a health corner and register will also be maintained in the residential schools, she said.Poonam also stressed on administering IFA tablets to students as per schedule to prevent anaemia among adolescent girls in the district. Steps to provide safety and security to boarders, safe drinking water, toilets, street lights, mosquito nets, life skills education, career counselling and extracurricular activities will also be taken up.  

Emphasising on close coordination among officials of both the departments, the Collector said a duty roster will be maintained by headmasters of the schools to ensure that teachers stay in the hostels 24x7. 
Life skills expert of UNFPA, Odisha Sushant Panda said the aim of the initiative is to enhance knowledge and skills among adolescents hailing from tribal and marginalised communalities and create an enabling environment in residential schools of the district. Around 55,000 students between the age group of 5 and 18 are enrolled in 129 residential schools of the district. Of them, 60 per cent are girls.