Now, doctors to guide school kids on issues related to adolescence

Don’t be surprised if you see a doctor visiting a government school to keep tabs on students’ health. Physicians will now be required to ask the older students in gover nment and government-aided schools whether they were facing any problems related to adolescence and sexuality.

The central government’s Rashtriya Bal Surakhsa Karyakaram has added eight new health conditions to the list of ailments that particularly affect teenagers.

Children studying in government schools do not get proper counselling on issues relating to attraction towards opposite sex and physical and emotional changes in adolescence. As most parents are also not aware of the problems and students do not have access to counseling, doctors will now guide the teenagers.

The new problems faced by teenagers include substance abuse, depression, irregular menstrual periods, pain while urinating, discharge or foul smell from genital area and pain during menstruation.

With drug addiction becoming endemic in the state, checking on students for any history of substance abuse has become especially important.

Nirmal Satpal, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Nurpur Bet, said: “Doctors should check students of government schools for any manifestation of these adolescence-related problems, as most are ignorant about such things and hesitate to seek help to resolve them”.