A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

455

The supervising teachers of hygiene and sanitation (Bureau of
Education) represent the active interest that the school system has in
the health of school children. Though performing numerous other
duties, they nevertheless in 1924, examined 15 per cent of all children
examined by the different agencies.
Philippine P t Red Cross Percent-Supervisors of
Year Health Pehygiene and PercentService age nurses age sanitation age
1923....................... 675,354 62 210,875 20 191,073 18
1924....................... 624,335 63 209,744 22 150,429 15
LACK OF COORDINATION AMONG THE HEALTH AGENCIES.-The
different agencies concerned with the health supervision of school children
are uncoordinated. The annual report of one district medical officer
consists largely of a bitter arraignment of the manner in which the
various agencies conflict with one another in their operations.
This lack of coordination has resulted from farming out to other organizations functions that should have been performed by the schools.
It shows also in the forms used. Although a committee has been
formed to harmonize the blanks used by the Philippine Health Service
and the Red Cross, as yet distinctly separate and conflicting blanks
are used. The duplication, the waste, the uncoordinated efforts resulting from several agencies trying to do school health work is gravely
deplored by the Commission.
FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE LACK OF COORDINATION.-Medical
inspection of school children is made by district health'officers and their
nurses, municipal health officers and their nurses, supervising teachers
of hygiene and sanitation, and Red Cross nurses. Only ten divisions
of the Islands, Antique, Cavite, Central Luzon Agricultural School,
Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Mindoro, Oriental Negros, Pangasinan,
and La Union, have supervising teachers of hygiene and sanitation.
The supervising teacher of hygiene and sanitation makes a monthly
report to the division superintendent. Philippine Health Service Form
15 is filled out for each individual child, by the supervising teacher of
hygiene and sanitation and by nurses in the Health Service.
The Red Cross nurse makes a monthly report to the division superintendent on the Red Cross Form 839. She keeps individual record
cards for pupils examined in the school. She also keeps individual
record cards (Form 834) for patients treated in the homes, whether
pupils, parents, or children under school age. They have also begun
using Form 1034-A, the teacher's record of the pupil's physical condi