23 October 2000

SPEECH BY RAdm (NS) TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND 2nd MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE CHERISH AWARD ON MONDAY, 23 OCT 2000 AT THE AUDITORIUM OF THE METHODIST GIRLS' SCHOOL AT 3.00 PM

Good afternoon

Mr Moses Lee, Permanent Secretary (Health),

Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, Director of Medical Services,

Mr Wee Heng Tin, Director-General of Education,

Principals,

Ladies and gentlemen

Over the last few decades, we have enjoyed rapid social and economic development. This has made Singaporeans much better off in material terms, and brought about pronounced changes in the average Singaporean’s lifestyle. But being better off in material terms is meaningful only if we have well-being - the health of mind and body to fully enjoy them.
In Singapore, we invest a lot of resources to ensure the well-being of our young. They represent the future of our nation. A healthy child will grow into a healthy adult. Good health combined with a stimulating environment can help our children achieve their full potential.
Today, the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, provides a systematic and comprehensive schedule of health surveillance for our children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has affirmed that promoting health through schools is one of the most efficient and effective ways of improving the lives of young people.
In Singapore this programme includes health screening, immunization and health education through school and clinic-based programmes. In this way, health problems can be detected early, communicable diseases prevented, and good health habits inculcated. Such programmes play a critical role as they have a lasting impact on our pupils at the crucial and formative stages of their lives – childhood and adolescence.
Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It is a state of complete physical, mental, emotional and social well-being. For this reason, the approach taken to health education in our schools goes beyond making sure that our children are not suffering from illness. Students must understand what influences health, be able to make informed choices and adopt wholesome behaviour throughout life.
Health-related issues are dealt with in several subjects across the curriculum. And schools organise a wide variety of health-related activities to reinforce what is taught in the curriculum. These include the Trim and Fit programme, health fairs, counselling programmes and excursions, for example to Healthzone, a permanent health exhibition managed by Ministry of Health. Even music lessons have been used to spread these messages through songs on healthy lifestyle. In the course of these activities, our students learn, among other things, about. the dangers of smoking, and the importance of eating properly.
Even the health of our teachers is not neglected. Our teachers are much better role models of a healthy lifestyle if they consciously look after their own needs for good health. To assist them, the Teachers' Network has organised programmes for teachers on promoting a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention.
A health-promoting school forges partnerships with parents, members of the local community and other external resources to promote health. These linkages, and most importantly, continuing reinforcement of the healthy lifestyle message at home will help ensure that the total environment that our children grow up in is a healthy and wholesome one.
Having come this far and made much progress, what lies ahead? Our report card on promoting health in schools certainly shows many pass marks where we have done well for our children. But we must now look towards achieving excellence in this arena.
It is against this backdrop that the Ministry of Health is launching the CHERISH Award. CHERISH stands for Championing Efforts Resulting in Improved School Health. The award is the Health Ministry’s way of showing appreciation and recognition to schools which strive to nurture the physical, emotional and social health of both students and staff, and help them adopt healthy practices. Schools will be awarded gold, silver or bronze awards, depending on how comprehensive and innovative their school health promotion programmes are. I hope that the awards will motivate our schools to not only sustain but intensify their efforts to promote health programmes for the benefit of their students and teachers. It is now my pleasure to launch the Cherish Award.