A3-0380/93

Resolution on health education

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the resolution of the Council and of the ministers of education meeting within the Council of 23 November 1988 concerning health education in schools,

-having regard to the conclusions of the Council and the ministers for health of the Member States meeting within the Council of 13 November 1992 concerning health education,

-having regard to the conclusions of the Council and of the ministers of education meeting within the Council of 27 November 1992 on health education in schools,

-having regard to the communication of 11 May 1992 from the Commission to the Council on the implementation of the resolution of 23 November 1988 on health education in schools (SEC(92)0476),

-having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A3-0380/93),

A.whereas Articles 126, 127 and 129 of the EC Treaty provide the Community with the legal basis required for the development of a European health education policy,

B.whereas the measures implemented by the Commission since November 1988 represent an excellent starting point for the future development of health education in Europe,

C.whereas specific health education measures have been carried out under programmes such as 'Europe Against Cancer' and 'Europe Against AIDS',

D.whereas health education goes beyond merely acquiring knowledge or taking on board public health messages; whereas above all it entails learning a healthy way of life,

E.whereas a lack of exercise during and outside school hours can be particularly damaging to health; whereas information and specific measures are needed in this area,

F.whereas health education calls for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach; whereas, in order to be effective, it cannot be confined to the classroom, but must be carried out in close cooperation with families and the community at large,

1.Recalls that education has the aim of taking children and turning them into self-reliant adults capable of making independent choices in full knowledge of the implications;

2.Calls on the Commission to continue and build on the measures already implemented:

-by facilitating and improving exchanges of experience and teaching materials throughout the Community, taking account of the need for consistency with the other programmes at European level designed to stimulate education;

-by encouraging the establishment throughout the Community of pilot projects which adopt a comprehensive approach to health education by involving not only schools, but also families, local communities, sports clubs, voluntary services, etc.;

-by pursuing these measures and integrating them in the European Network of Health-Promoting Schools;

3.Calls on the Member States to continue and build on the measures already undertaken:

-by launching and encouraging initial and ongoing training schemes for teachers in health education and above all in health education methods which involve active participation by the child/adolescent;

-by assisting with the preparation of health education programmes geared to each stage of the development of the child/adolescent, in close cooperation with teachers and the health authorities;

4.Welcomes the close cooperation on this matter between the Community, the Council of Europe and the WHO and expresses the hope that it will continue;

5.Takes the view that health education policy can be effective only if it is drawn up and implemented, both at Community and Member State level, on the basis of close cooperation between the education and health services;

6.Takes the view, at the same time, that schools must take the lead in implementing a health education policy, because the latter remains primarily an educational measure;

7.Takes the view that health education should incorporate teaching which covers the following areas, starting with very young children and continuing throughout primary, secondary and higher education:

-the development of human beings, from conception to death;

-the body's main physiological mechanisms;

-contagious and transmitted diseases and their prevention;

-the harmonious development of the body by means of sporting activities as a regular, compulsory part of the curriculum;

-respect for the functioning of the brain through knowledge of the damage of drug abuse and toxic substances;

-the importance of social relations for proper psychological development;

-the development of responsibility towards oneself and towards others;

8.Hopes that steps will be taken at Community level to improve efficiency by coordinating the various Commission departments responsible either for health education or specific programmes which entail the implementation of health education measures;

9.Stresses that, in order to provide for sufficient financial, human and material resources to develop a Community health education policy, a specific budget heading must be created;

10.Calls on the Commission to look into and carry out a study on the suitability of existing legal instruments and their typology for the development of the education sector in general in order to make proposals for revision of the Treaties in 1996;

11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.