On 27 July 2017, Unisa’s Department of Health Studies, hosted Limpopo Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, at the 2017 School Health Convention. The MEC spoke with much emphasis on the importance of the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) for learners. She believes that this joint activity proved since its inception in 2013 to be learner centered and until now the learner support has yielded outstanding results as far ISHP objectives are concerned. The ISHP joint activity programme was adopted by the College of Human Sciences under the patronage of the Integrated Task Team comprising of the National Department of Health, Basic Education and Social Development.  

As a university, Unisa is deeply committed to playing its role in our country’s national development, through the alignment of its core business areas of teaching and learning, research and community engagement with our national educational and developmental objectives. For this reason, the College has institutionalised the School Health Integration Programme (SHIP); a community engagement project that addresses the overall health needs of learners in schools in an effort to elevate them to perform and function at their peak with their daily academic activities.

Aligning community service is a core function of the university, SHIP envisages synchronisation of health, and educational interests of all learners to ensure that Unisa’s future students are drug, alcohol and HIV free. Also discussed was the issue of School Health as an academic offering; this venture was highlighted as a long overdue enterprise at the convention.

Makgathatso Pilane-Majake member of the National Assembly and chairperson of the Justice and Correctional Services Committee spoke of the importance of good motivation. She said there are many unused budgets that get returned to the national treasury, in response to the question of lack of funding for new projects. She advised that the funds are there, they just need well motivated proposals.

She also raised the issue of disintegration in the country, and said she is of the view that if we really want to see the change we talk about, we should actually forge to becoming integrated and move beyond our differences. “It will take all of us as a nation to successfully tackle our prevailing social problems,” she said.

Unisa’s Department of Health Studies in the College of Human Sciences recently hosted Limpopo Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, at the 2017 School Health Convention where she spoke on the importance of the Integrated School Health Programme.

*By Katlego Pilane (CHS communications and marketing)

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