KUALA LUMPUR: Support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector will help instil a good safety and health culture among students and teachers, said National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
He said without the assistance from these stakeholders, NIOSH would not be able to reach more than 10,000 schools and five million students nationwide.
“We also need their help to inculcate good occupational safety and health (OSH) practices among the hundreds of thousands teachers and non-academic staff in schools," he said at the technical session of the 33rd Asia Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organisation Annual Conference (APOSHO 33) in Hong Kong yesterday.
At the conference, Lee presented a paper titled "OSH in School - a NIOSH Malaysia Approach in Cultivating OSH Culture at an Early Stage in Malaysia.
The three-day APOSHO 33 is organised by IOSH, a chartered body for health and safety professionals with over 47,000 members in more than 130 countries making it the world’s largest professional health and safety organisation.
Apart from NIOSH, the other two members of APOSHO from Malaysia at the conference are the Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health (MSOSH) and Malaysian Occupational Safety and Health Practitioners Association (MOSHPA).
The three APOSHO members from Malaysia will also jointly host the 35th APOSHO in Kuala Lumpur in 2020.
He also said the OSH in school programme gained huge momentum with the collaboration between NIOSH and the Education Ministry in 2016.
"To date, more than 50 schools have participated in the programme and many more are expected to join with the support from various NGOs and the private sector who can help provide volunteers and sponsorship for the initiative," he said, adding that more teachers and students are receptive to the idea of OSH education in schools to prepare them for their entry into an accident-free work environment.
Lee also said the programme is part of NIOSH's corporate social responsibility initiative to help create awareness and educate teachers, students, parents and staff on the importance of OSH.
"NIOSH has also published a guidebook titled “OSH programme in Schools” and distributed it to several schools with sponsorship from corporate organisations.
"We plan to publish a more comprehensive and updated guidebook after receiving input from students, teachers and the stakeholders," he added.
Meanwhile, Petronas Group Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) head Mohamed Amin Abdullah said the petroleum company was keen to sponsor schools near its facilities to participate in the OSH in School programme as it could help nurture good safety and health culture among the young generation.