Health and safety of students are the critical components of any educational process. In all types of educational processes, the system of education is responsible for securing university students from injuries and promoting their health. Making university environment safe is not an easy task; universities are obliged to comply with the whole set of safety and health guidelines. Ultimately, integrating health and safety standards with the major educational initiatives is critical for achieving the standards of excellence in education.
Health and safety standards refer to the set of practices and guidelines, to which Universities adhere in order to provide safe and healthy working environment for students and to support sound environmental practices among university’s students. Usually, “it is the University policy to comply with all applicable health, safety, and environmental protection laws, regulations, and requirements” (Steingold & Schroeder, 2007).
The general elements of health and safety policy include a general statement, the delegation of duties, arrangements needed to monitor and review health and safety compliance; first-aid support for students; occupational health services; university security considerations; testing and maintaining electric equipment, ventilation, and appliances, etc. (Connolly, 1992). Generally, health and safety standards are designed in ways, which help educational facilities meet the standards of sustainable use of natural resources and ethical environmental conduct.
Health and safety have far reaching implications for the effectiveness of all educational procedures; these mainly refer to the need for preventing injury risks and minimizing the negative consequences of injury-risk activities. For example, practical lab experiments or field trips need to be reconsidered through the prism all health and safety aspects regarding students. Health and safety standards work to ensure that all members of educational community bear responsibility for following these standards, and that everyone can be safe and secure in any type of activity within or outside the physical building (Connolly, 1992).
At this point, the University’s responsibility is to ensure that regular risk monitoring and assessment procedures are undertaken, and that necessary adjustments are made to promote healthy and safe educational performance in all types of learning activities. Health and safety rules are important for managing the issues of safety at workplace. In educational settings, health and safety laws work to establish a set of regulations “designed to eliminate personal injuries and illnesses from occurring” during the educational process (Steingold & Schroeder, 2007).
Federal and state statutes are designed not only to protect students and education professionals from injuries, but to inform them of their rights and responsibilities at workplace, the responsibilities regarding safety of students, and to allow safety representatives participate in the development of health and safety initiatives. Ultimately, health and safety laws are designed to guarantee that universities can timely prevent accidents (Steingold & Schroeder, 2007). Until present, The Occupational Safety and Health Act has been one of the central elements of health and safety regulation.
The act is being enforced by Occupational Safety and Health Administration “through workplace inspections and investigations. Compliance assistance and other cooperative programs are also available” (Connolly, 1992). Department of Education, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Department of Labor also work to promote the role which health and safety standards may play for improving the quality of all educational processes. As a result, universities operate in a complex legal environment, where health and safety compliance is the necessary prerequisite of successful education.
Conclusion Health and Safety standards work to promote health and safe environment, to protect students from injuries, and to maintain sustainable attitudes toward environmental resources. A whole set of laws and guidelines regulate health and safety in educational facilities; and health and safety compliance can be fairly regarded as one of the essential elements of sustainable performance in the current system of national education.
References
Connolly, W. B. (1992). A practical guide to the occupational safety and health act. Law Journal Press. Steingold, F. & Schroeder, A. (2007). The employer’s legal handbook. Nolo.