Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday honoured several schools that achieved a “healthy school” rating under the Royal Health Awareness Society’s (RHAS) accreditation programme.
Her Majesty presented certificates to the 49 schools, several of which are part of the Madrasati initiative, at a special ceremony held at the Madaba Secondary School for Girls yesterday.
Established by the Queen in 2005 to promote health and encourage Jordanians to adopt healthy lifestyles, the RHAS initiates and supports community-based health and safety interventions in partnership with public, private and civil society institutions.
A healthy school environment is at the top of the RHAS agenda and the society implements the Healthy Schools Accreditation Programme in partnership with ministries of health and education to evaluate schools and accredit those that succeed in adopting the national health standards.
The programme introduces standards for healthy school environments, thus encouraging the idea of developing healthy lifestyles and eating habits in order to prepare children and adolescents for healthy adulthood.
The National School Health Standards, which cover different areas of a school’s health environment and their related performance indicators, were evaluated by the World Health Organisation and approved in 2007.
The standards include leadership and management, school environment and health safety, health awareness, effectiveness of staff, community participation, health services, social and psychological support, sports and nutrition.
In his address at the event, Minister of Education Khalid Karaki thanked Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania for their continued and unwavering support of the education sector, especially students and teachers.
He also highlighted the important and effective role that teachers play in both the school environment and society as a whole, describing it as a vital role that stems from the teachers’ influence in shaping the knowledge base and thinking skills of future generations.
Referring to next month’s parliamentary elections, Karaki stressed the importance of teachers’ civil engagement as Jordanians head to the polls on November 9 to exercise their constitutional rights.
Encouraging teachers to vote and make their voices heard through the democratic process, he noted that 100,000 teachers is not a segment of the electorate that should be underestimated.
Jordan Times