Appraisal of the Implementation of the National School Health Policy in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Abstract

Policies are checks in the execution of programme, hence the National School Health Policy document is meant to guide the promotion of the school Health programme. This study was undertaken to assess the successes and weaknesses of the execution of the National School Health Policy/School Health programme in order to make recommendation in the document. A sample of 184 school principals in Delta state were the respondents. It was an ex post facto, descriptive study. Self design questionnaire was used to solicit information. The questionnaire was derived from the strategies for the implementation of the National School Health Policy. Descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentages and a multiple regression statistics using SPSS 21 was used to analyse the data at 0.05 level of significance. It was found in this study that the National School Health Policy/School Health programme was being significantly executed in Delta state (F-value – 2.935, df  and alpha, .022). Among the variables only School Health instruction with t –value, -3.034 and alpha at 0.05 was found to be a predictor of comprehensive effective National School Health implementation. Others; principal’s awareness, Government monitoring, and School Health – Community relation were not significant as a predictor of the National School Health Policy/School Health Programme. It was recommended among others that the government and other stakeholders in  education should improve on the gains so far and set up a power full  monitoring term to evaluate the implementation of the National School Health Policy/School Health programme on regular bases in Delta state, Nigeria.