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AS educational paradigms evolve, integrating best practices from other countries plays a pivotal role in transforming health and wellness initiatives in Malaysian schools.
This, said SK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) English language teacher Mohd Saharudin Setapa, is a key takeaway from the recent AIA Healthiest Schools (AHS) Regional Awards ceremony in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Mohd Saharudin was in Indonesia on July 4 to represent the primary school in Putrajaya in the ceremony, where it was named the “healthiest” among more than 2,000 primary and secondary schools across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and Vietnam, bagging the grand prize of US$100,000 (RM466,475) for its innovative Helpie health mobile application.
There are many challenges and opportunities as Malaysia continues to evolve its approach to health and wellness in schools, Mohd Saharudin, who led the Helpie project, told StarEdu.
He said it is crucial that educators leverage insights from neighbouring countries to develop effective strategies.
“Partnerships between schools, communities, government and health organisations will be essential in driving this transformation forward,” he added.
Competing regionally, he said, offered insights, motivation and inspiration for his school to help shape the future of health and wellness initiatives in Malaysia.
Proud team: (Far left) Mohd Saharudin posing for a photo alongside his students from the app innovation team.
“We learnt so many new things from our peers. Their projects opened our eyes to new approaches. I intend to adopt the many successful initiatives I’ve seen.
“For example, the primary school representative from Indonesia inspired me with their initiative to maintain the physical health of their students through weekly wellness routines, like eating a healthy breakfast, abstaining from sugary foods and exercising in school.
“This initiative is important given that most kids these days tend to neglect healthy eating habits,” he said, adding that having holistic support by collaborating with other schools to leverage their expertise ensures a more comprehensive approach to health and wellness promotion.
Explaining his school’s project, Mohd Saharudin said Helpie was created last year to promote mental health and well-being among school students and the community.
The project aimed to achieve this by adopting two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3, which focuses on good health and well-being, and SDG 4, which emphasises quality education.
He said the app was built using Andromo, a platform for app creation, along with basic programming languages like HyperText Markup Language and Cascading Style Sheets, which he and his students learnt via YouTube tutorials.
“Together, we developed an app, which was a great addition to their portfolios,” he shared.
Despite the many hours spent on developing and prototyping the app, he said it was not too difficult once they had a clear idea of the design and understood the basics of coding.
“We took almost four months to complete the project before we were able to test it. Feedback from students, the school counsellor and nearby hospitals was collected to improve our prototype.
“It took almost half a year before we were able to launch Helpie,” he said, adding that the team plans to share the app with other institutions across the region to tackle stress and improve mental well-being on a wider scale.
SMK Convent Butterworth, Penang, senior assistant of student affairs Suzana Khamis, who led the school’s team in showcasing their Eco-Jump Rope and Dumbbell, said interacting with schools from across the Asia-Pacific opened their eyes to a wider range of strategies for promoting health and sustainability in schools.
“We came across innovative projects focusing on nutrition, mental well-being, and alternative methods for encouraging physical activity.
“Learning about these diverse approaches allowed us to identify potential areas to adapt into our own project,” she said, adding that they were able to identify elements contributing to programme sustainability, effective student engagement strategies, and methods for overcoming obstacles commonly faced in school health initiatives.
Suzana said the impetus for her school’s project was a concern about student inactivity, with factors like limited access to conventional fitness equipment and a preference for screen-based activities contributing to the issue.
“Traditional fitness equipment can be expensive, which can limit student participation.
“By crafting jump ropes and dumbbells from recycled materials, the project removes any financial obstacles, allowing all students to engage in physical activities,” she said.
Looking ahead, she said the project holds great promise for further development as they plan to expand the equipment options beyond jump ropes and dumbbells to cater to a wider range of student preferences and fitness levels.
“This may involve creating recycled exercise bands, balance trainers or even weight benches,” she said.
Suzana added that SMK Convent Butterworth’s participating in the event fostered connections with schools and educators beyond the country’s borders.
“These connections can develop into a valuable network for future collaboration. Sharing resources and best practices can address health and sustainability challenges on a broader scale in Malaysia,” she said.
All smiles: (From left) AIA Malaysia corporate communications manager Tunku Faradiana Tunku Zainal Abidin, Suzana, Mohd Saharudin, SK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) headmistress Norzah Mohd Kassim, AIA Malaysia brand and communications director Asha Nair and SMK Convent Butterworth principal Lim Lean Yolk at the awards ceremony.
Endorsed by the Education Ministry, the AHS programme, said AIA Group chief marketing officer Stuart A. Spencer, is designed to encourage healthy living habits among students aged five to 16 by promoting healthy eating, active lifestyles, mental well-being and sustainability in schools.
He noted that a key best practice observed throughout the programme was the strong integration among students, teachers and the community, working together in a highly coordinated and collaborative manner across all participating countries.
Spencer
A total of 2,376 primary and secondary schools from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and Vietnam participated in the 2023/24 AHS programme.
“The diversity of the initiatives that we saw was great and we can really see the impact and the influence the programme has brought forth,” Spencer said, adding that there was tremendous enthusiasm from schools, with extensive participation, engagement, and many excellent ideas across all dimensions of wellness (see infographic).
He said the programme will be expanded to include the Philippines and Sri Lanka next.
“We are looking for schools with innovative ideas and initiatives that have the potential to go beyond.
“Our goal is to discover effective strategies in one school, share those successful ideas, and implement them in other schools that could be participating in the future.
“Think of these schools as incubators of great ideas and initiatives that can inspire and stimulate change throughout Asia.
“Supporting kids’ health through education at a young age is crucial for driving health habits in adulthood, helping them lead longer, healthier lives and ensuring future generations are in better shape,” he said.
AIA director of group brand Stuart Woolford said the competition allowed schools to apply what they had learnt by participating in the competition.
Woolford
The winning schools, he added, were then given funding to help bring their programmes and innovations to life or elevate them to the next level.
“One of the criteria for the judges in selecting the winner was impact – not just the idea itself but how well it was executed and its potential for further impact,” he said, adding that having the local winning schools across the Asia-Pacific interact and share their key learnings was an effort to spark inspiration and adoption of best practices back in their respective countries.
“We held a workshop for all the local winning schools to interact and learn from each other.
“Our aim was to create a community of best practices that extends beyond just the schools that participated in the programme this year, allowing schools to share and adopt ideas from one market into another,” he said.
‘Reimagine power in classrooms’
Schools play an important role in nurturing young minds to become proactive agents of change, capable of addressing global challenges. By educating students about global challenges and solutions, schools make children and youths relevant and motivated stakeholders for the future.
The world is far behind in achieving the SDGs. We are supposed to be halfway through achieving the 17 SDGs by now, but instead we are only 15% through our targets by 2030.
This shortfall underscores the urgent need to create more empowering educational spaces that encourage action. My hope for schools everywhere is to reimagine the power that exists within our classrooms to create positive change.
We would not be able to grow into the best version of ourselves that this rapidly changing world needs for us to be without the foundational support of our teachers, school principals and educators all around the world. We urgently need our classrooms to become spaces where we can develop our skills to create positive change by making learning engaging, creative and relevant.
These AHS schools are setting a precedent for others worldwide, showcasing the tangible benefits of being solution-driven and proactive.
– AIA Voices environmental ambassador and Indonesian changemaker Melati Wijsen
