Ho Chi Minh City: Initial Health Examination for Students, Report on Student Health Status

What are regulations on initial health examination for students, report on the health status of students in Ho Chi Minh City?

On September 12, 2024, the Department of Education and Training issued Official Dispatch No. 5729/SGDDT-CTTT in 2024 regarding the initial health examination for students and a report on students' health status.

>> Download Official Dispatch 5729/SGDDT-CTTT in 2024

To further enhance the efficiency and quality of the initial health examination for students, to effectively implement the care and health protection for students in the 2024-2025 academic year, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training requests the head of agencies and units to implement the following:

1. Conduct initial health examinations for students in compliance with Joint Circular 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDDT.

2. Report on students' health status:

   - Report Content

   For kindergarten children (from 36 months old and above): update and report on height (cm) and weight (kg).

   For students of general education: update and report on height (cm) and weight (kg); number of students who can swim, and those who cannot; eye diseases and report on body mass index (BMI).

   - Reporting Method

   Report the health status of students on the Ho Chi Minh City's education and training data management system at https://csdl.hcm.edu.vn/ (abbreviated as Ho Chi Minh Database).

   - Implementation

   The Education and Training Offices of districts, towns, and Thu Duc City, and educational institutions must review to ensure the quality and completeness of the health status report information in Ho Chi Minh Database, completing before March 31, 2025.

What are regulations on initial health examination for students, report on the health status of students in Ho Chi Minh City? (Image from the Internet)

How to organize activities for managing, protecting, and caring for students' health in Vietnam?

According to Article 9 of Joint Circular 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDDT, the organization of activities for managing, protecting, and caring for students' health is regulated as follows:

- Conduct a health check at the beginning of the school year to assess nutrition and health status: Measure height and weight for children under 36 months; measure height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and vision for students from 36 months old and above.

- Measure height, weight, record growth charts, monitor physical development for children under 24 months old monthly and for children from 24 months to 6 years old quarterly; monitor body mass index (BMI) at least twice per school year to provide advice on proper nutrition and physical activity for primary and secondary students.

- Regularly monitor students' health, detect visual impairments, spine curvatures, dental issues, mental health disorders, and other diseases for timely handling, transferring to medical examination and treatment facilities as per regulations, and applying suitable learning and training policies based on health status.

- Coordinate with qualified healthcare facilities to organize specialized medical examinations and treatments for students.

- Provide first aid according to current regulations of the Ministry of Health.

- Advise students, teachers, parents, or guardians about issues related to diseases, physical and mental development of students; guide students in self-health care; if there are students with disabilities in schools, provide advice, support for their integration.

- Guide the organization of healthy, varied, age-appropriate school meals for schools with boarding and semi-boarding students.

- Coordinate with local health facilities in organizing vaccination campaigns for disease prevention for students.

- Announce the health status of students to parents or guardians at least once per school year and when necessary. School healthcare staff evaluate students' health status at the end of each education level to serve as a basis for monitoring health at the next level.

- Record and keep health examination books, students' health monitoring books, and consolidate the general health status of students.

- Regularly check, monitor learning conditions, classroom hygiene, food safety, drinking water supply, and hand-washing soap. Proactively implement hygiene and epidemic prevention measures and policies as stipulated in Circular 46/2010/TT-BYT and other guidelines from health authorities.

- Organize and implement health programs, hygiene movements, increased physical activities, reasonable nutrition, building a smoke-free environment, and avoiding alcoholic drinks and addictive substances.

What are funding sources for school health work in Vietnam?

Based on Article 3 of Joint Circular 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDDT, the funding sources for school health work are regulated as follows:

- Annual health and education and training budget sources according to the current budget allocation of units;

- Student health insurance sources according to current regulations;

- Funding, support from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals as per legal regulations and other lawful revenue sources.