In a bid to provide health education to children, the Ministry of Social Development of the Province 3 government is working to hire 101 nurses who will be employed in government schools in the current fiscal year.

Previously, the ministry had announced the vacancy and conducted a written examination for the nurses.

"We have also published the result of written examination," Gopal Bajgain, a senior health assistant at the ministry, told the Post over the phone. "We have started interviews to finalise the candidates."

For the vacancy advertised, 590 nurses had applied, and 582 passed the written examination, as per the results published by the ministry.

According to Bajgain, a nurse would serve in a school of each rural municipality, and the provincial government has allocated Rs500,000 to each rural municipality to purchase necessary equipment and medicines for the schools. The ministry had hired as many as 20 nurses for schools last year.

"After we sent nurses, sanitation and hygiene conditions improved in schools, students were more aware of their health, and the enrolment of girls improved as well," said Bajgain.

Nurses deployed in schools conduct health check-up of students and teach them the importance of maintaining hygiene and healthy living. They also teach students about adolescent problems and educate girls about menstrual hygiene.

“Adolescence is a critical period in a person’s life. With the body undergoing major hormonal shifts, it becomes increasingly difficult for young adolescents to understand the changes happening inside and around them," said Om Khanal, an official serving at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. "Nurses deployed in government schools will help them figure out the changes and teach them ways to cope with these changes."

In Nepal, adolescents between the ages of 10 to 19 years make up 23 percent (about 7 million) of the total population. Many of them confront adolescent problems early into the age bracket, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.

Khanal said that nurses could play an important role in making school-going children aware of the importance of healthy behaviour and teach them about the consequences of early marriage, early pregnancy, dropping out of school, drug use, and social media addiction, among others.

"Sending nurses to schools will help in behaviour change, as students easily grasp the message," said Khanal.