Schools told to upgrade health services

The Sharjah Medical Zone on Monday issued a series of recommendations to be implemented in private schools in order to upgrade the level of health services. In collaboration with the Sharjah Educational Zone and the Sharjah Municipality, the supervisory committee at the Medical Zone stated that all workers in private schools must undergo training in first aid to prepare them for emergencies. The committee stated that doctors should not renew their contracts in private schools; instead, they must register their periodic visits to schools. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health and Director of Sharjah Medical Zone, stressed the importance of involving private schools in health programmes in order to improve the health of students at different academic levels. Inadequate doctor count Article continues below In the academic year 2009-2010, the number of students enrolled in private schools in Sharjah was recorded at 85,993, representing 76 schools that were supervised by 25 doctors and 86 nursing staff. The number of students in the academic year 2010-2011 has increased to 113,964, while the number of doctors has remained constant. The number of nursing staff has, however, risen to 129. "The number of students should be equally represented with the number of nursing staff," Shaikh Mohammad added.