Daily Times

LAHORE: A committee has been constituted to finalise modalities for adding a book titled Sehat Taleem Se to curriculum of public schools.

This year the book will be included as supplementary reading material and the next year it be made regular part of the curriculum.

According to details, Minister for School Education Rana Mashhood has constituted a committee comprising Punjab Textbook Board chairman, Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) managing director (MD) and Young Doctors Association (YDA) General Secretary Dr Salman Kazmi to finalise modalities for introducing the book to the curriculum of public schools to save millions of schoolchildren from infectious diseases like measles, dengue, Congo etc. The committee is expected to submit its recommendations at the earliest.

Dr Salman Kazmi told Daily Times that a meeting of the School Education Department would be held by the end of next week to finalise recommendations in this regard. He added that the book on 34 infectious diseases contained pictures, symptoms and suggestions about precautionary measures. He said that the government had earlier introduced a book on dengue but it could not produce desired results.

He said that the Chief of Army Staff Secretariat had also issued an appreciation letter to YDA Pakistan General Secretary Dr Salman Kazmi for producing the book to sensitise young children on deadly diseases.

He said that doctors had taken the imitative to save the lives of innocent citizens, especially children on the special directives of the Punjab government as well as the Health Department.

“This book is prepared by 20 doctors belonging to the Mayo Hospital, including Dr Umair Ashfaq, Dr Farhat Abbas, Dr Zameer Mir, Dr Bilal Mehmood, Dr Sarwat Saif, Dr Soaid Zyed, Dr Muhammad Takki, Dr Asad Raza, Dr Sheraz Saddiq and others. This book contains around 43 pages with details about diseases with pictures and preventive measures,” he added.

“Keeping in view the fact that over 150 people died of dengue, 230 minor children of measles, 45 young children of diphtheria and 10 of Congo fever in the last five year, the book will be of vital importance to save the lives of thousands of people,” Dr Salman concluded.