By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Schools will be banned from selling or providing soft drinks to students from next year in accordance with a government measure to enhance students' health.
Ramen and fried food in school meals will also be restricted.
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development announced the five-year health policy Monday which ranges from the nutritional content of school meals to school environment improvements, including air quality in classrooms.
According to the policy, schools will be required to be transparent about the nutritional content of school lunches so that students can be more aware of what they consume. The measure will be implemented next year following a trial period this semester.
By the end of this year, soft drink sales through vending machines or at snack bars will be banned at schools. Ramen and fried food, which has been linked to obesity, will also be restricted.
Health and physical education teachers will take charge of managing the health of the students, examining their obesity levels and providing them with guides for proper nutrition intake and physical activity.
Through the programs, the ministry aims to decrease the ratio of obese students from 18.2 percent of the total in 2005 to 15 percent by 2011.
The school environment will also be regulated to be healthier. The ministry will revise the relevant law by 2010 and inspect the environment at schools such as air quality in the classrooms, drinking water, noise, sick house syndrome (associated with new buildings), asbestos and dust.
Ventilation facilities will be installed at schools with high levels of dust, while water quality will be improved in schools that use underground water for drinking.
The ministry will also encourage students to brush their teeth after lunch and wash their hands frequently.
Schools will also pay more attention to the mental health of students _ mental checkups will be expanded from 96 schools nationwide during the latter half of this year to all schools by 2010.
The educational authority will examine students' diseases and problems including depression, anxiety, drinking, smoking, drug usage and Internet addiction, and have students with such problems undergo counseling and treatment.
The program is in line with the government's aim to reduce students' smoking rate from 7.4 percent in 2005 to 5 percent by 2011, and alcohol drinking rate from 10.2 percent to 7 percent.